RWBY: The Dark Side of a Rose
by BlitzingRaptor
Summary: The galaxy in turmoil, war awaiting any spark, a prophecy proclaiming heroes fallen to the dark, will be ripped from a world of bloody evolution. Secrets kept long silenced awakened, motives unclear, Villains and Heroes blurred. Lies and deception run rampant through both sides. Remnants scattered across a galaxy at war, who are the heroes and who are the villains?
1. Chapter 1: The Day Everything Changed

**A/N: 12/18/17: Hopefully it still comes up as December 18 When I put this up, Sorry for the absolutely prolonged delay on chapter 47, life was life, so without further notice chapter 47 is up, happy birthday to Dark Side of a Rose and happy holidays,**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor out!****

 ** **Disclaimers: I do not own RWBY (owned by Rooster Teeth) or Star Wars (owned by Disney and Lucasfilm) or the Old Republic (owned by EA + Bioware [TOR and KOTOR] + Obsidian [KOTOR 2 TSL]) Or any of the various Legends or EU Material that will be used or referenced.****

 ** **Warnings of massive character change, character death, Violence, and foul language. You have been warned! (If the M rating wasn't enough)****

 ** **As I removed the Disclaimer in the intro text this is an Old Republic Era AU and I will be using Expanded Universe (Legends) Materials, with Dark side Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Nora, other RWBY Characters will be present, along with some SW Characters, and OCs as side characters.****

 ** **Chapter 1: The Day Everything Changed.****

* * *

 **Chapter 1:** ** **The Day Everything Changed****

* * *

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away

Year's ago the Great Galactic War boomed, the return of the Sith Empire was at hand. Though, it also marked the return of a hero long thought dead. A Jedi thought to be lost to time, but her arrival came too late as the Sacking of Coruscant was happening, a battle that shoved the entire planet under a brutal Sith attack. The hero could do nothing but watch from afar as she felt the healed wound in the force was closing and sealing, her curse was gone. The tinge of pain still there in her body from the act she ran, accelerated by the force. On the ground the Sith were decimating the city world, pillaging, plundering, burning, the general barbarisms of war. She would bet the Sith were holding back on their attack as she watched the low flying dreadnoughts pummel the upper layers of the city. She figured they could make Coruscant into a second Taris if they wanted to, they certainly had the firepower to do it.

Dashing towards the Jedi Temple, the sounds of Turbolasers, blasters, and lightsabers were blaring in the air. Upon reaching the massive structure, the white-cloaked Jedi watched a group of Jedi masters that were cut down by a Sith with a viridian blade. The Sith had the air of a traitor, a man who turned on the order and wanted them to suffer.

She felt helpless, though she steeled herself to face this opponent. Inhaling she smelled the charred flesh of the dead masters and charged. Running forth, she ignited her silver blades engaging the deviant Sith with the art of dual blade fencing. White petals flowing from her cloak she engaged the Sith with a fury most Jedi abandoned for fear of the Darkside. The Sith smiled at this and engaged a second viridian blade on his hilt as the half circle guard opened and he smiled with, "Time to die, Jedi!"

The blades spun on the circular hilt and locked the Jedi into a defensive as the Sith pushed her ever closer to the edge that led to a steep drop. With a quick force push, she went over the edge, and fell into the main hall, next to a blue-clad Jedi Knight with a cross guarded blue saber that she had at the ready.

Quickly acknowledging the other, the blue knight and white clad Jedi engaged various Sith marauders and their troops as the Temple around them burned, littered with the corpse of their fallen comrades. Both held back tears as they fought, though they fought with the fury fueled by guilt and sorrow, but most of all hope.

The hero knew none of these Jedi. though, she could feel the darkness that had eclipsed them as Coruscant fell. She needed to help them as much as she could, that's what she did now, she helped others in need. She refused to let herself or the blue knight faultier, though they were getting overwhelmed and they were truly getting desperate the hero of the Jedi revealed her knowledge of darkness to the Sith, in the form of a blast of force lightning. She had walked both the paths of light and dark.

Something she was not proud of but her knowledge of the dark, but it did have its uses. It was at this point the order was relayed to fall back and protect the Senate. As much as they duo wanted to stay and fight, they knew the senate had to be protected. The battle to evacuate was nowhere as intense but a Sith wielding two blue blades stood in their way. She bore the marking on her robes of a dark councilor, which made the duo decide to evade rather than fight.

During the sacking of Coruscant, the Empire and Republic signed a peace treaty on Alderaan, the treaty was less than favorable for the Republic but it guaranteed a level of peace as both sides recovered. The war went cold, awaiting a spark to ignite it again, as both sides fought in the shadows. No open warfare, it was during this time the Jedi discovered a years lost Jedi, who had returned on Coruscant, from whatever hell she was buried in. Her white-clad presence brought the Tython bound Jedi one thing, Hope, as she told them that she had a plan to defeat the Sith in due time the name of this Jedi was Meetra Surik.

* * *

Years later, on a dark and gloomy day, lightning crackling in the air. the day was a normal for a day on Dromund Kaas, though the force storms seemed a slight bit more potent on this day. The darkness permeates all of the planet, tainting even the life that teems within the swamps and jungles of the planet. Walking through this desolated wilderness is alone, a darkly clad figure. the figure's robes swaying with each step, as he was contemplating the prophecy a Specter told him in the tombs of the lords long past. The Specter voice haunting his mind as he looked at the Holocron that revealed the information to him originally, "The drums of war beat, louder and louder, heralding Their arrival from a planet long lost."

* * *

On Remnant, teams RWBY and JNPR, still recovering from the breach incident, were sent to investigate a deactivated dust mine by General Ironwood. this former mine was suspected to be a White Fang hideout. Despite this being a former Schnee Dust mine. Despite this fact, Weiss knew nothing about the mine or its contents. This gave it an even darker air when they approached as they saw no activity, not a soul in sight of the place, aside from them.

"Hey, Ruby, is this place giving you the creeps?" Jaune inquired to Ruby nervously as they approached the mine with their respective teams in toe behind them in no particular formation.

She replied with, "No, I just have a bad feeling about this place," she said looking around, her head on swivel. Blake was behind them still pestering Weiss if she knew anything about this mine she replying with responses that said she knew nothing. Despite this Blake did not believe Weiss and kept pestering, but Ruby did believe Weiss and said: "Blake if Weiss knew anything she would've told us, this is the White Fang we are dealing with."

Weiss was actually slightly shocked by this statement, as it signaled Ruby was taking this very seriously. As they entered the mine, they realized the lights were still on, signifying someone was here, if not recently. They kept walking deeper into the mine searching everywhere for clues. It was like the mine was deserted hastily, things thrown around as if a mass of people were trying to escape. They found White Fang Regalia along with mining equipment, but not a single person in sight. out of the corner of her eye, Yang saw a note posted on the wall that read,

"'To the ones who find this note, BEWARE of the back of the mine! There's something back there, we don't know what.'" Yang read this aloud, "Well that's cryptic. We gonna check it out?" Inquired Yang, as she crumpled the note in her hand shoving it into a pocket in the interior of her jacket.

"We came here to investigate, So I see no reason why not to," replied Ruby cheerfully as she began to keep trotting down the cave like entrance to the mine as her team was following.

"Well, that thing had the miners or White Fang running. it could be really dangerous," Jaune spoke nervously. It was a seven to one vote on going further into the mine, Jaune being the only opponent. Though, as they continued into the bowels of the mine, they didn't notice any signs of struggle or any hints the anything was wrong as they walked along. They noted the dust crystal in the walls as they morphed and twisted with dark shadows from the crystals, Weiss even made a comment on how odd they were. The group also noticed how hastily everything was dropped, tools left abandoned some machines still left idling in place. Despite all of this they kept walking as a group towards the rear of the mine.

Once they passed a certain point, they heard the rattle of guns being lowered and then they heard the phrase "checkmate!" come from behind them. They turned to face the squad of White Fang, lead by a ghost of Blake's past, Adam Taurus. The eight's eyes went wide as they noted the sheer amount of explosives on the wall, disguised to hide it from view. It was at this moment the eight knew what this was, a trap, as the White Fang leader clicked the detonator, with a smile.

The initial explosion was not that of the sufficient magnitude to do any major structural damage to the mine, but the energy it instilled in the dust still encased in the walls caused an even more devastating secondary explosion. Only microseconds after the initial detonation, the secondary explosion was not that of a concussion detonation, like the first. No, it was like a singularity absorbing matter into it and four of the eight were caught in the vortex like orb, and ripping them from this world. The singularity barely spared the remaining four. With the removal of such vast amounts of matter from the mountainside, a collapse was inevitable. Though, the collapse was even absorbed somewhat by the singularity. This material is what caused the singularity to collapse. As the air rushed in to fill the void left by the singularity, it created a loud concussive blast that exposed the mine chasm to the open air.

* * *

Ruby was the first of the four survivors to wake up, they were in the crater of the blast, though to call this a crater would be a massive injustice as it was more of hemisphere cut out of a mountain. In front of them all, exposed to the crater was a thicket of dense woods, Ruby's body was hurting and burned as she saw red eyes peering through the darkness in the woods. Knowing they were Grimm, she reached for Crescent on the back of her belt and her body locked and her heart raced when it wasn't there. Looking around she saw her precious weapon shattered on the ground, saving her from death by breaking on a rock to save her from breaking her back. Though, it was shattered. Her prized weapon was destroyed to save its owner. Her clothes were beaten and ragged, blood trickling from small wounds all over her body as her Aura was depleted yet she needed to fight.

Realizing there was no time to mourn the loss of her precious scythe, she needed to arm herself to fight for her friends. by her left hand was Weiss's Rapier, Myrtenaster. its blade was buried in the ground as it loosed itself from Weiss's belt in the blast. Ruby, remembering basic sword training from Signal before Qrow picked her up and taught her how to use a scythe, she grabbed the sword. Feeling its weight in her hands, she was not used to a weapon like this. as she sauntered forward, she saw Pyrrha's sword, Milo, buried into the dirt on her right side seeing no alternative she picked up her blade as well. her eyes narrowed on the Grimm as she noticed, Blake, Yang, Jaune, and Lie Ren, were not in the hole with them. her mind snapped back to the mine, she grips on the blades tensed as she felt anger, hatred, and grief rushing over her as her eyes flickering yellow as she engaged the Grimm only attracting more with her anger and darkness. She roared forth with a fury that she always kept in check, slicing through the Grimm like a razor.

* * *

For Weiss, it felt like hours before her ears would stop ringing. The Heiress felt sapped of all her strength. As she struggled to move, she saw Pyrrha and Nora still unconscious, but she saw a flash of red and heard a faint voice yelling. In seconds she saw what was happening, Ruby was fighting Grimm, though her fighting seemed different as she engaged them. As Weiss's vision recovered becoming less fuzzy she saw why. Ruby was not using her scythe; no she was using twin swords, Weiss's Sword, along with Milo, Pyrrha's spear. She was wondering why Ruby wouldn't be using Crescent Rose. As she thought about it, she saw her answer on the ground next to her it was destroyed beyond repair. Looking around she also noted the lack of JR and BY which caused her to gasp quickly.

Weiss could feel the desperation Ruby was going through trying to save what remained of her friends. Returning back to Ruby, Weiss heard her voice cold with anger and hatred, two things the little red head was not known for. As her hearing focused she could hear the vulgarity and wolfish growls poured from her mouth as she darted around. The normally red blur was blackened from the soot and scorching from the blast. She was cleaving through the hordes with ease despite her injuries, though her injuries caused what happened next.

Her right leg locked up in a tinge of pain allowing a Beowulf broke Ruby's recently recharged aura and slammed its claws into her right shoulder, ripping from front to back. the claws tearing through Ruby's clothes and cloak in the process. At the sight of this, Weiss screamed in horror as her friend and partner was wounded, her mind going miles a second. Hearing Ruby's blood-curdling shriek, Weiss decided she had to try something, something that most likely would kill her, an Aura Transfer. A forbidden technique that was well hidden from most to all due to its nature. The transfer is giving up a portion of the Aura to someone. The one performing the transfers soul, according to the records of transfers the ability to do this act was spontaneous. Most didn't know what they did till it was too late. Many of Atlas's labs tried to recreate such event but with no success, Weiss knew this, as she felt her aura channel to her fingertips.

Seeing Ruby moments from death as the Beowolf Raised its claw for her head, Weiss yelled her command to Ruby "Live!" She did not want any more of her friends to die, especially Ruby even if she died to save her. To know she live would make it worth it. In a split second, Weiss extended her arm and focused her Aura and her glyphs to focus part of her aura in a line to Ruby.

The pain in her shoulder was unlike anything Ruby had felt before. Ruby felt her blood pouring out, seeping into her cloak and top, as she impaled the Grimm that did the damage, but the pain was unbearable. She felt her aura fading as she leaned on Pyrrha's spear, that's when she felt a cool breeze on all of her wounds as they closed and healed like her aura was being supercharged, though they did not heal perfectly, no they scarred. Seeing more of Grimm, she adopted a stance that only someone intimately familiar with the types of weapon she was holding would know; though Ruby had only basic sword combat knowledge. Engaging the Grimm with that cool feeling engulfing her as she heard the word "Live" being spoken in Weiss's voice in the back of her head. Hearing these words Ruby smirked as she re-engaged with the Grimm.

Ducking and rolling, Ruby evade then struck with new found agility, thrusting the blade of Myrtenaster into the brain of an Ursa that barreled out of the forest. Ruby smiled as the Ursa fell dead at her feet, it was at that point Ruby held up both blades readying herself for further combat. She saw the forest morph and ignited and the blades in her hands turn into red energy for a split second. After that split second, she saw the Grimm in the forest back down, retreating as if they just witnessed something even more terrifying than them.

Watching as she felt her aura giving out completely, Weiss saw Ruby fighting and doing so with cunning unlike any she had ever seen from the little red Huntress. Weiss saw skilled swordsmanship with Myrtenaster and Milo. It was in one split second she watched the environment morph and twist with flames, and a black cloaked figure standing tall, with to blood red energy blades held at their sides.

Watching as the vision faded and she faded in and out of consciousness, she knew the transfer was successful as Ruby stood victorious holding the stained black blades in hand as the Grimm retreated and their fallen corpses disintegrated. She had accepted the blackness of death. Before she could close her eyes for the last time, she saw Ruby's silver eyes were above her. She could tell by the way they looked she was panicking, though, something looked different as they flickered in color from a yellow. She could feel Ruby frantically trying to save her. She didn't want Weiss to die but Weiss conceded her fate.

Ruby wanted to scream, she had already lost four people today, she wasn't going to let Weiss die. As Weiss's eyes fluttered weekly as Ruby looked down upon her friend, she was going to die and Ruby felt a pain in her soul as held her dying friend. Weiss was smiling weakly as she held her, while Ruby was in tears. It was at that point Ruby felt like something unlocked inside her, a power she could use to save Weiss. Pouring her aura into her friend she felt like a that was missing in Weiss was restored, that's when something inside them both clicked and Weiss started to regain her strength she felt her aura returning as she felt Ruby transfer her aura to her but Ruby didn't lose consciousness like Weiss did, but she did feel weak as Ruby noticed her normally Red aura was lighter in color. though after a few seconds Weiss awoke in the red heads arms. Seeing her awake made Ruby hug her tightly, with tears streaming down her face. She had saved Weiss, though unknown to her she sealed their fate.

* * *

"The fear of further losses and, a hatred of weakness. They walk the dark path. A passion which drives them to strength fuels them. a passion unlike any other, though when They arrive They will be ruins, tatters, a foundation without structure. Destroyed by the trails of loss and morphed by Their fates. They will need to be rebuilt," These words echoed in the Darth's mind as he continued his stroll through the murky swamp as lightning crackled above as the force storms grew and swelled. He was contemplating the implications of the use of "they," this meant there are two of them or maybe even more. This to the dark figure would seemingly make things much more complicated.

* * *

After their emergency evac via Bullhead, all of the girls were rushed to the infirmary to treat their wounds, of which there were many on Pyrrha and Nora, though Ruby and Weiss seemed minor at best as the most they had were sealed as their aura was seemingly supercharged. This was something Glynda took serious note of as they got cleaned up. Though she conducted her aura exam from a far as not disturb the very upset girls. Stitches gauze and bandages adorned the girls as they sat in the infirmary, all of them in shock at the lack of four of their friends. Though they all knew soon enough they were going to debriefed. With all of this Weiss kept quiet about what she had done, lest she wanted to upset Ruby even more, though Ruby seemed oddly quiet as well whenever she looked at Weiss. Though that did cause Weiss to wonder, how was she alive, the aura transfer usually killed the donor, and yet she had her aura, and it felt even more powerful than before, but she wasn't allowed much time to ponder on that thought.

As after being allowed a short amount time to recover, the girls were escorted by Atlesian soldiers to the main tower of Beacon. They were stripped of any weapons, as they walked defeated, with their heads hung low, not wanting to catch any glares from on looking crowd, that already knew what happened from a leak. They were lead to the main lobby where they waited, listening to the monotonous ticking of the clock tower, at first quietly sobbing, then crying as grief fully set in as the full force of the situation came down on top of them.

"Ruby, Weiss, Nora, Ironwood wants to see us in Ozpin's office," Pyrrha said gloomily her face stained with green streaks makeup as she checked her scroll as Weiss tried as best as she could to comfort a very disturbed and muttering Ruby. She tried doing this while she herself was stifling tears that wanted to erupt forth. Nora was another case, she curled up on the floor sobbing, on the verge of hyperventilating, sounding like an overworked pair of bellows. Beneath her, it seemed a small puddle of tears was forming.

Managing to get Ruby to her feet, Weiss supported the distraught leader, seeing the fresh scar covered wound on her shoulder from the beowolf. Weiss felt most of the younger girl's weight on her shoulder as they walked. Pyrrha was supporting weeping Nora, from how she looked she was broken beyond repair. them walking to the elevator was a sad sight for any onlookers the main one being Goodwitch as she couldn't even watch this and retreated back to her office. She wanted to help the girls, but her orders were final. Holding Ruby, Weiss felt her leader's pain, as she walked her legs quivered and she felt her strength giving out with each step though she felt Ruby supporting her. They were like a symbiotically linked organism, one supporting the other as they walked.

As they entered the office they were greeted by the cruel voice of Ironwood. The man the security council gave command and charge of Beacon and her security to after the breach. This was due to the Security council's opinion that Ozpin was not doing his job of securing Vale for the Vytal festival well enough. They gave Ironwood full run of Beacon till and its operation till the Vytal festival was complete. In this time the Altesian government along with Ironwood had locked down interests in Vale in the military occupation, even offering Students at beacon full transfer to Atlas for huntsmen training. It was obvious, the occupation for security was turning malignant. the General who ordered their mission was standing looking out of the window. "Such a waste of talent," He said cruelly, seemingly unaffected by this loss, "a waste of life unlike any that has occurred at this academy or any academy for that matter!"

"Then why did you send us!" Ruby screamed, her face looked quite fearsome to those in the room. Weiss was shocked seeing and hearing Ruby yell like this, Ozpin could do nothing as he was stripped of his power till the end of the Vytal Festival. All he could do at Beacon was discipline minor incidents and manage faculty. Missions and debriefing were to be handled by Ironwood, not him. this disgusted him as Ironwood even had command over him, due to that damned security council.

"I was confident you eight could handle the situation, though it seems I was mistaken," he said walking up to Ruby, who at this point was glaring death at Ironwood, her nails digging into the palm of her hands causing a trickle of blood as her nails buried into the soft tender skin of her palms.

"Did you know it was a trap!?" Weiss accused, raising her voice, as she was getting that feeling from Ironwood, She noted the slight tingle in her palms she flared her arms out at Ironwood.

"I suspected it, yes," Ironwood said calmly looking Weiss in her eye. He seemed not to care about withholding this information, he was a General a man who viewed his troops as expendable. he felt bad about the incident, but nothing unmanageable, he had lost friends before, this was nothing new to the man.

"Then why weren't we warned!" the stoic Pyrrha interjected, her anger being unleashed in a torrent, comparable to an explosion of fire and brimstone. Her eyes looked on with a fiery fury at the Atlas general.

"I wanted you eight to learn to identify a trap on your own," he said stonily, not seeming to care about feelings of the four students in front of him.

"Four people are DEAD!" Weiss yelled, stomping her foot for emphasis. Her face marked with a scowl of pure anger, an anger she had never unleashed before.

"I know it's a shame," he said as he walked back over to the window "Loss is a lesson all hunters and huntresses must get used to, no matter how close." This line caused Ruby to snap bursting out in a fireball of rage embracing her anger.

"WELL, MAYBE THEY WOULDN'T BE DEAD IF YOU WARNED US!" Ruby screamed, voiding her lungs of air as she did. She was also wishing she had crescent right now or any weapon for that matter. This outburst made Ozpin and her three friends look at her with wide eyes, as she inhaled continued, "YOU GOT MY SISTER AND FRIENDs KILLED BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT WITHHOLDING FUCKING INFORMATION WAS A DAMN GOOD IDEA!" Ruby outright screamed as she had shown she could say a word that no one expected her to say. other than that Her voice bombarded Ironwood's ears. Though it was after this line the sound of a coffee cup can be heard shattering as it hit the floor and the long silenced Ozpin spoke out,

"Please, Miss Rose, refrain from using profanity," Ozpin said as he looked at Ruby whose eyes almost had a glimmer of gold in them as they seemingly flickered yellow as she huffed, accepting what Ozpin said and did not continue her rant, despite wanting to along with breaking Ironwood's jaw, though Ozpin received a long Ironwood replied, with brutality and savagery

"Miss Rose, your error to have your team go to the back of the mine is what got them killed, so you are as much at fault as I am," Ironwood declared as Ruby lurched forward though she felt a hand on her chest as she started to move, and Weiss stepped forward and spoke only maintaining her composure for a few words,

"After all that you said, HOW THE HELL COULD SHE BE RESPONSIBLE, YOU MASSIVE IDIOT!"Weiss screamed as loud, if not louder than Ruby, while she held back a very enraged rose.

"Miss Schnee, I recommend you calm down or I will make sure your father hears of this incident," Ironwood smiled pleasantly, as Weiss replied with a scowl, though, all of this talk was going on a brewing rage was boiling over in a certain person, her eccentric attitude crushed, now seething Nora leaped forward, like a ravenous animal. Though, Pyrrha intercepted the raging redhead, determined to stop her from doing anything to make the situation worse for them, though Nora was screaming trying to get free yelling

"MY LIE REN IS DEAD! THANKS TO YOU!" Weiss extended her other free arm to tell Nora it wasn't worth it. Though it was at this point Ozpin noted the tears strolling down their faces, in full streams. It was a sight like this that made him truly question if the man in front of him was truly Ironwood, as the man in front of him did not act like the General he knew.

"Let this be a lesson to you four in loss!" he spoke boldly, ignoring the peering hatred that wanted to jump him the second he turned his back. "As of right now you four are one team, team Prydwen effective now, also you four are restricted from missions for the rest of this year and the Vytal Festival. You are dismissed, please leave." Ironwood said firmly, his chosen name broke the code of the color naming rule, something he did to dishonor the poor team, a common tradition among modern Huntsman teams made up of what remained of two or more teams to forsake the color name rule, though in most circumstances it more of a punishment than and honor to the dead.

As the newly minted team left, they had firmly pinned the blame on Ironwood and that damned White Fang, Ozpin said, "are you happy Ironwood? Torturing them like that? They are not soldiers, and Who do you think you are forming them into a team like that and barring them from the Vytal Festival"

"They are huntresses. They will learn they might as well be soldiers." Ironwood spoke firmly, looking at his friend who he wished could see the world through his eyes. He chuckled as he walked over to Ozpin making a point to step on the shards of his dropped cup. "that is your weakness Ozpin, you care too much for your troops"

"They are not soldiers, Ironwood. I fear you have made a grievous problem even worse," Ozpin spoke in a cool defiance riddled with anger.

"Let anger and rage fuel them," Ironwood said, thinking this would groom them into good units for Atlesian special operations or other special projects for Atlas's interests. These girls would work well for Atlas's secret projects and interests that he knew of, and having another Schnee under his command wouldn't hurt or so he thought.

"This is wrong!" Ozpin yelled breaking his ever stoic cool, as he clenched his fists as walked up to Ironwoods face looking him the eye to see if he evaded his gaze and presence.

"You are in no position to argue Ozpin," Ironwood said coldly ignoring Ozpin's attempt a blatant intimidation. "I am in charge of your academy for the remainder of this year for the Vytal Festival," Ironwood said cleanly and crisply announcing the same fate Ozpin had heard numerous times so far.

"Can you not see that they are traumatized, we should be helping them not tossing them away?" Ozpin growled as he stamped his cane on Ironwood's boot. An action Ironwood rebuked with a swift raising of his foot and grabbing the cane.

"Ms. Rose and her friends need to learn a cold lesson in reality, there will be no further discussion on this Ozpin." Ironwood said with a simple dismissive gesture "Any opposition to my command will be met with your forceful removal from the headmaster position so don't get in my face like that again Ozpin or I may have to take it as a threat."

* * *

"New to the darkness that permeates Their hearts, betrayed, entrapped, and confused. Their hearts will be twisted black," By the dark lord's interpretation, this meant so by the time they arrive, they will have already taken a fall to darkness. Maybe even given into the dark side, making his Job all that more easy. Though that depended entirely on who 'they' were.

* * *

"Well, I guess you two will be moving in with us," Weiss said in a gloomy tone as the Pyrrha and Nora went to get their things as Ruby sat on her death trap bed quietly sobbing. Weiss looked up unsure of what to say, She had never seen Ruby act like this during their first year at Beacon, though never had someone died like this.

That's when Ruby spoke, her voice broken and filled with grief, "Why today of all days, Weiss, we lost our friends and Ironwood and Ozpin don't seem to care." Ruby's voice petering out as her throat was sore from screaming at Ironwood. On the day of her birth, four lives were snuffed out in an instant.

"I know it's infuriating" Weiss grumbled in a tone Ruby knew all too well, though for once was not directed at her or her antics, "He has some major nerve to act like that!" though as Weiss yelled Ruby felt how shook up she was as well.

"I know!" Ruby cried, the tears rolling down her face, "Also Weiss, I'm sorry that I used your sword, I know you don't really let other people handle it," Ruby said, being apologetic over something trivial, trying to take her mind off the torrent of thoughts in her mind. Varying from, _Was this actually my fault? what could I have done?_ And _Why did it have to be them? Why couldn't it take me instead?_

"No, don't be, you actually surprised me that you could use it" Weiss responded shocked Ruby would be apologizing for that. She could get apologetic sometimes if she really messed up, but Weiss wasn't expecting her to apologize for that, as it was trivial considering the situation.

"Really?" Ruby replied, her sobbing subsiding for the moment, looking up at Weiss as the tears relented for a brief moment as she looked up into Weiss's eyes.

"Yes, you Dolt," Weiss said still with her saddened tone in her voice, "you looked really good with a sword actually," Weiss admitted with a slight blush, not knowing what she was feeling as her chest tightened up and her heart fluttered, something that happened often when Weiss looked at Ruby, though she denied it at times. Though this time, she really did think she looked good with a Sword, and with the proper training, she could become very deadly, though she would need a blade that could take the brunt of high speed. Weiss shook her clearing her mind of the thoughts as Ruby continued.

"Thanks, Weiss, I just lost it there in that fight. I couldn't bear to lose you too," Ruby said her sobbing truly subsiding and a glimmer of a smile shine through as she looked at Weiss thankful she didn't die.

"What do you mean?" Weiss inquired, as there seemed to be something weird about the way Ruby said that.

"It's nothing," Ruby said hiding the fact of what she did to save her life, and some feelings she was acting upon that she had kept hidden throughout her time at Beacon, mainly pertaining to the snowy-haired heiress.

"You saved all three of us, Ruby," Weiss said popping up on the bed next to Ruby, ignoring what she said as she knew Ruby would talk in due time. Her action of getting up on the bed caused it to rock a bit and creek, but she had seen Yang climb up there so she figured it was safe.

"I've lost so much, Weiss, if I lost you, or anyone else, I don't know what I would do," Ruby cried, her tears resuming in full force. As she couldn't bare the thought of losing anyone else she held dear.

"The same goes for you Ruby If I lost you-" Weiss said with a saddened tone in her voice that was breaking down with each word she spoke, though she was interrupted.

"First my mother, now Yang and Blake, Jaune and Ren, even Crescent, not one more person I hold dear will die, Weiss!" Ruby declared with a slight sadness still present, but her voice was tainted with the growl of darkness. This declaration shocked Weiss to her core, as she never once saw Ruby in this light, it was frightening to the heiress as she ranted. "Peace is a lie. Heroes are a lie. Good and evil are all lies! I don't care those who did this will face my wrath and I don't care HOW!" Ruby screamed in a statement that almost effectively denounced her dreams of becoming a hero.

Weiss herself was stunned by what Ruby was saying, but something in her agreed with Ruby, that's when Ruby asked a question that shocked Weiss to the core, "Weiss, do you think revenge is wrong?"

"No, not anymore," Weiss felt herself smile slightly at the thought, she knew about Blake and her Vendetta but, this was different. That beast back at the mine murdered and killed their friends and family. Something Weiss could relate to and Ruby commented on this.

"Then we will smash the White Fang," Ruby growled effectively declaring a personal war on the White Fang.

"That we will," Weiss said in full agreement. She never thought revenge was fully the 'proper' thing to do but for this, she would, as she had her personal vendetta against the 'Fang.'

"If we may, could we join in as well, Ruby," Nora inquired calmly and quietly, pain seeping through her voice as she entered the room.

"Feel free, you have as much right as us," Ruby spoke her voice lowered with a meaner tone, as her lips curled into a smirk, "We are a team after all."

"No, we are more than that we are in your debt Ruby. You saved us both. Without you we would be dead," Pyrrha said with a muted smiled as the new team forged a bond of vengeance and justice.

"Well then, I don't need this anymore," Ruby said as she unpinned her now tattered cloak, allowing it to fall to the floor in a pile. "It's too bright for me now."

"What do you mean, Ruby?" Weiss asked concerned for Ruby who jumped back up to the bunk, cloak-less. Something that looked odd to the three other girls.

"It's too distinct of a color besides red used to be the color of my heart," Ruby frowned as she laid back down on her bed as she cursed today the day of her birth yet the day of four deaths, though as she laid there she said to her team, "now it's time to paint it black."

* * *

 **A/N: Well that marks the end of the new chapter one. I personally like how it came out an excellent way to kick off the story with a bang (or a Yang depending on who you ask). Well, I really don't have much to say down here anymore. So I will keep the bottom walls of text A/Ns to a minimum, (Unless you guys want them back?)**


	2. Chapter 2: Consequences

**A/N you made it past the word wall in Chapter 1? Awesome! Here's Chapter 2: Consequences**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Consequences**

* * *

"Together, intertwined between them. A bond strong in the force, soul, and emotion, so long as they are together, Their power would be unmatched." this line from the specter made the Darth think back to a record from the Mandalorian Wars. it was a Jedi who could form bonds between Force Sensitives, but this seemed much more powerful.

* * *

Four hours after the incident at the mine and the traumatic debriefing. One instructor, in particular, was very concerned. She walked to the tower of Beacon, her scroll at the ready and her riding crop tucked under her left arm. Her makeup in disarray as she watched the feed from Ozpin's office during the 'Debriefing if one could call it that', and with her most recent discovery she felt like she had failed the girls even further. The normally harsh teacher would have agreed that Ruby and her team need to grow up, but not so suddenly, and not with a grudge or grief, especially with the challenges to come next.

Ironwood walked past her to return to his airship, he gave Glynda a smile, which Glynda returned with a glare, as she walked past him. Heading towards the tower she looked up to the dorm building, specifically at the window of the now scorned PRWN. News of the event was starting to make its way around in whispers throughout the campus, Caring teams like CVFY, discussing how they could help the newly formed team. Neutral teams like those brought for the Vytal festival would offer help if they could. While those of meaner spirits would use this to torment them, like CRDL. She terminated this line of thought as she entered the tower and focused her attention on the conversation, as she hoped for it to be reasonable. Though, knowing what had just transpired she figured Ozpin was going to be drunk, or at least on his way there.

* * *

She was not wrong, as Ozpin sat in his office he was pouring hard liquor into a coffee cup, undiluted. He was angry at the world considering what had happened to his two most promising teams, though he was more ashamed at what happened to his the daughter of Summer, and all of their family. Summer herself wasn't a normal person, and neither was Ruby, though he feared what she would become with vengeance taking priority over justice and righteousness in her mind. Though his thoughts on this matter were quickly interrupted by knocking on his door, something that made the man lower his head on his desk.

"Ozpin may I enter?" Asked a feminine voice from outside the door to the ticking clockwork office. At least it isn't Ironwood again he thought, as she knocked again, though much harder and louder this time

"Yes, Glynda, come in," Ozpin said head flat on his desk able to see his lap through the ticking gears under the glass in his desk. Ozpin raised his head as soon as he heard the door open, reaching to hide the bottle of whiskey that he had been drinking from. Instead, he whacked it with his hand sending it plummeting to the floor, only for Goodwitch to catch it and raise it up setting it back on his desk. After doing so she spoke,

"Professor, I am sorry to go against your wishes of not disturbing you, but I think it would be prudent to make sure we have plans in place for the funerals and support for Team PRWN," Glynda spoke as calmly as the situation would allow, she wanted to get plans together before the News teams could arrive to interrogate their school.

"Do what you feel is necessary Glynda," Ozpin replied evading his counterpart, and bury himself deeper in the bottle than he already was.

"Ozpin, we don't need you to become like Qrow, so please let us have this discussion, I will handle the results," Glynda said poking at Ozpin who quickly replied by sitting back and slouching drunkenly in his chair.

"Go ahead Glynda," Ozpin replied calmly being careful to not slur his words as he spoke.

"Well firstly I think we should decorate the school in the colors of the fallen for a week, maybe more, also we should prepare for a media blitz, of which I suspect Ruby will probably be the target of, from Ironwood blaming her for the incident," Glynda explained quickly and calmly, the latter part of the explanation was one she truly wished wouldn't come to fruition, but it was one she wanted to prepare for.

"Wait, you really think Ironwood would vilify Ruby?" Ozpin asked knowing Ironwood would stoop low, but low enough to vilify a just recently turned sixteen-year-old girl.

"Considering his latest actions, I personally wouldn't put it past him to do that, continuing on I say we suspend classes for a week and allow team PRWN two to three weeks more to recover from this, and we have the funeral within the week as a school-wide event, though we should consult the families to see what they want," Goodwitch spoke calmly, thinking how to respect the families of the deceased.

"Would you handle the contacting, I don't think I could do that right now?" Ozpin asked not wanting to deal with that strain, besides Glynda is the public face of the academy, not Ozpin.

"Also my last topic, I am concerned about Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, even more so than originally," the blonde instructor spoke calmly at Ozpin as she readied her scroll with the pertinent information.

"You know what Ironwood said," Ozpin said slumped over his desk, defeated and dropped down by his old 'friend's' control of his academy. Though, what he was referring to was Ironwood's orders to not interfere with Miss Rose or her team.

"Damn him and his opinions!" Glynda yelled breaking her cool, though the cracks in her facade were showing long before her outburst.

"So, what's wrong?" the grey-haired man raising his head from his desk again, concerned what could have Glynda so concerned that she would bother coming to Ozpin he knew the Situation for PRWN was quite bleak.

"Aside from how they are acting now, I think Ruby and Weiss have managed to merge their auras," Glynda explained calmly and stoically. This sentence made Ozpin's eyes shoot open.

"WHAT!? How is that possible! aura merging is extremely rare and dangerous. Glynda, why do you suspect this?" Ozpin inquired, legitimately shocked actually standing up at this news. As he asked himself What happened on this mission?

"I was running a post-mission aura scan on them, and the signs showed their auras were equal and both astoundingly more powerful than when they left. Along with that Weiss and Ruby have started showing the first symptoms of a merge." Glynda spoke explaining the situation to an even more perplexed Ozpin.

"So, it's a symbiotic merge?" Ozpin inquired, having experience with this type of bond before. Though limited he knew the potency of such a bond along with its consequences.

"From what I observed, I would conclude that to be the case," Glynda confirmed, firm in her discovery of the existence of the merge.

"Interesting, Let them know and this is the critical part, Please do it in private away from Ironwood as soon as possible. I would hate to see them be carted away under pretense as test subjects for Atlas's labs. Now leave me be I must battle with my own Demons right now," Ozpin said sadly as he retreated into the bottle on his desk.

"Ozpin don't let them battle you," Glynda worried, as she noted the bottle of whiskey on Ozpin's desk was three-quarters of the way empty. as she walked out Qrow walked past her not saying a word, he looked angry, though not at Ozpin but at Ironwood.

* * *

"Together, they stand, divided they will fall. Their fate like shackles, if broken they will die or one will suffer for eternity." This line made the dark lord confused, as this seemed much more than just a simple force bond. Though with a bond this strong, they would logically very powerful individuals, with great potential. The last bit confused the lord as it hinted at two consequences.

* * *

Glynda was sitting at her desk in her office as she felt sorry for Ruby and her team, No one expected Ironwood to have turned so far away from peace. If what she suspected had occurred they had to know immediately so just five solemn minutes alone she pinged their scrolls and prepared to explain to them what had occurred. Just barely over ten minutes after sending the scroll alert to the two of them, they had arrived in her office.

"Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, do you know why I called you two here?" Glynda opened the door with that question. She asked this hoping they would explain the merge to her but alas all she got was a quick and harsh reply from Ruby who seemed different to the instructor, and that was due to her ever-present red cloak was gone.

"No, we don't?!" Ruby growled, expecting another scolding, something Goodwitch was quite known for and good at. Though the air in the sparsely decorated office wasn't tense to Ruby as she quickly realized the tone Goodwitch had was more pleasant and sympathetic than normal.

"No need to be mad, Miss Rose, I'm not here to scold you two," Glynda said peacefully not wanting to put any additional stress on the girls. That's when she noticed the first apparent signs of a bond, a streak of black was beginning to form in Weiss's bangs and a faded streak was beginning to form in Ruby's bangs. though, some darkness was also forming at the tips of Weiss's hair.

"Well you going to keep playing guessing games with us," Ruby growled in frustration as she clenched her fists, she didn't want to here all night as they were trying to get the effects of the deceased together for obvious reasons.

"No, then I shall be straight to the point Have you two ever heard of an aura merge?" Glynda asked bluntly, hoping the answer was no as if it wasn't she would be very concerned that either Ruby or Weiss may possess elite hacking skills to gain access to such high-security records, though she wanted to laugh at that thought as it was simply too rediculous.

"No," they responded in sync, something they both took note of as they tried to call it out they spoke in sync again, "why did we speak at the same time?" Glynda Sighed as they very rarely did know of this merge until it happened and if she needed any more proof the weird bout of them speaking in sync was a symptom. Though, the instructor did detect a hint of dishonesty with that answer when it came from them, though it was the kind that told her they did something without the other knowing or even themselves knowing.

"Well, an aura merge is a rare occurrence between two or more individuals that can channel their Aura's though the other," Glynda explained from the Scroll in her hand. "This usually only occurs when a two-way aura transfer is performed successfully and both parties survive. So did you two perform transfers on your mission?" as soon as those words were spoken, it was obvious as Weiss's eye went wide, and she quickly broke with the truth at this description as she did know about the ability to transfer but not merge.

"Yes I did," Weiss sobbed in admission, hanging her head at this admission. Ruby looked shocked at this as she realized what Ruby did to save her, realizing how her aura recovered so quickly, "I didn't want Ruby to die!" She cried slumping over still reeling from the loss of the other four and remembering Ruby's pained screams, something Weiss never wanted to hear ever again. She vowed to be the best teammate ever for Ruby after all.

Ruby Looked at Weiss in shock and then admitted, "I did something to save Weiss's life as I thought she was going to die in my arms and I couldn't bare to lose her." Ruby admitted weakly as she comforted Weiss who was now sobbing as, Glynda gave them time to get their thoughts in order, as she brought them two chairs for them to sit in which they did. She gave them a brief time before she continued. It took them a few minutes to get everything back in order emotionally for Goodwitch to continue. The support these two gave touched the normally cold and stern instructor, which made her want to help the wounded team even more.

"Well then, your selfless acts, in this case, have consequences. whether they are good or bad is up to how you two interpret them," Glynda explained, hoping they were going to take this news well, as unlikely as that was, though she had to convey this now rather than later.

"What does that mean?" Weiss asked, her voice weak from the sobbing fit she just had, she was not liking the instructor's cryptic tone.

"Well, to put it bluntly, you two are now partners for life," Glynda spoke unsure how to brief the girls in the state they were in. She felt like a doctor informing a patient they had a very serious illness. "The aura bond makes it dangerous for you two to be separated more than two kilometers," Glynda spoke carefully, not wanting to upset the girls anymore than she had to.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked, confused at what the blonde instructor meant.

"If you go past two kilometers of separation," Glynda spoke solemnly, seemingly unsure how to proceed. Deciding the blunt approach would be best, she continued with, "your aura will wither and fade away, till it is unusable making it and your semblance useless."

"So, going home for holidays would be dangerous?" Weiss asked, her weak voice having a tone that told Goodwitch she was quite concerned. Though, internally the heiress was thinking, Monty if that is what Glynda meant. Though if word of this made it back to her father, Weiss cringed at the thought of what he would do to her and Ruby.

The look on Goodwitch's face was telling enough as she replied, "That is correct it could be fatal. though there are more perils to an aura merge, I am afraid." Glynda replied calmly, reevaluating the response and deciding to try not to lay the information on too quickly. Though, she quickly saw the looks on their face telling her she just needed to tell them now. "The first and foremost being, if one of you dies, the other you will live in constant pain and agony as your aura withers away," Gynda continued. The two girls looked at each other with horror, fearing the worst. When their attention returned to Glynda, she continued, "Also you two will feel certain sensations from the other, Like pain and pleasure."

"What does that mean!?" Weiss snapped at Goodwitch, her voice ragged and tired as she raised her tone, after what she just heard she was quite concerned her breathing wrong could hurt her partner.

"Miss Schnee, please calm down, I know this is a lot for you right now, but we couldn't let you two not know about this," Glynda explained, trying to soothe the broken heiress. "This is not something we at Beacon can take lightly, I know you two are very hurt right now, but you need to listen," the blonde instructor spoke trying to ease the tension. Though, it was Ruby who calmed Weiss as she put a hand on her back and looked her in the eye.

"Weiss, she wouldn't be telling us this if it wasn't true or it wasn't necessary, Okay," Ruby said in a mature voice that had Weiss listening. "Professor, please continue," Ruby said as she consoled Weiss, calming her so Goodwitch could continue.

"Well, the next thing you must know is, expect some physical changes," Glynda said calmly, hoping they would remain calm.

"What!?" they both shouted, shocked at the implications of physical changes, their minds went wild, thinking they would morph into hybrids of the other.

"Yes, some known changes, are a streak of hair that matches the other's hair usually at the bangs, which is already forming," Glynda spoke to the wide-eyed teens. "From the few cases it takes a few days to fully form also you will see specks of the others Eye color in your eyes, like the hair, that will take time to form." this explanation caused the girls to sigh, grateful they wouldn't become hybrid twins.

"So, are there any other things we should know" Weiss grumbled, Still perplexed by this situation.

"Well I have outlined the bad, Now for the good," Glynda said smiling for the first time in a long while. "First off, you have a shared aura pool that is over doubled," Glynda explained calmly, this made Ruby smirk. "Then also, when you transferred your Aura, you transferred some of your knowledge, for example, Weiss, you could probably field a scythe effectively, and Ruby, you can use a rapier, like you did back at the clearing"

"So that would explain how Ruby figured out how to use a sword so skillfully so quickly," Weiss said as she thought about it for a few seconds. though, Ruby was snickering at the thought of Weiss using a scythe.

"Correct," Glynda paused after saying to make sure the girls were still following, which they were with up most attention. "Though, the most interesting is the ability to utilize the others semblance as if it was your own," This explanation got the girls to go wide eyed. "Meaning, effectively you both have two semblances," Glynda explained to simplify her previous explanation.

"So I could use Weiss's glyphs, and Weiss could use my speed?" Ruby inquired with a smirk on her face if this was the case, she liked the implications of this as this gave her an advantage over those who would dare stand in her way.

"That is correct Miss Rose," Glynda smiled as she continued with, "So, I recommend you practice and test that out at some point," Glynda said this, wanting to give them something to do, as Ironwood's grip on the Academy was final. They would not be allowed on missions or be allowed to partake in the Vytal Festival. "That is everything, I forwarded the information to your scrolls if you need a reminder," The normally cold instructor said as she sat back down behind her desk. Continuing with another "Also there will be some awkward moments as those with aura merges tend to speak in sync with common short phrases or questions so expect that,"

"So that's what happened, earlier?" They both spoke in a synchronized manner, something that caused the two girls to look at each other, to which Glynda nodded, and replied with,

"Those with merged aura's can become very fierce combatants as according to one case they could predict and guess the other's actions to such a degree, that in tandem those two became impossible to combat alone." This made Weiss and Ruby go wide-eyed as they thought quickly this could be quite advantageous, and thus they need to learn how to take advantage of this gift.

"Is that everything?" Weiss and Ruby asked, once again in eerie sync,

"On the aura merge, yes. Now I want to talk to you two on what is going to happen in the coming week's firstly, tomorrow there will be a candlelight vigil, for the deceased and the school will bear their regalia, I don't expect your team to attend that, alright, it's too soon." Glynda explained calmly though continued before they could reply, "Classes for this upcoming week have been canceled in memorial each day dedicated to one of the fallen, with Friday being the school's funeral with friends and family in attendance, that we do expect you to attend."

Glynda took a second for this to sink in as the girls took in the information Goodwitch was pummeling them with. "Expect the media to catch wind of this as well, None of team PRWN are to talk to the press and if they harass you do not talk to them, Weiss and Pyrrha I expect to know their way around in a situation like that so if it comes to that stick with your partners, This is especially important for you Ruby as you were put in charge of that mission and I suspect Ironwood may try to blame you for the deaths-" This point, Ruby and Weiss brashly interrupted with,

"Haven't we suffered enough?!" Glynda couldn't help but agree with that, she really couldn't, they had suffered so much more than needed.

"You have suffered more than anyone should for what occurred and I fear it isn't over" Glynda spoke in a comforting tone, "Also all instructor's are to exempt you from assignments for three weeks if you want to take that time to recover," The two girls looked thankful as they heard this, they were in no shape to attend class. "And I want you two to do me a favor if possible, take care of each other, okay."

"Sure thing Glynda," they replied as she dismissed them, and proceeded to leave. Glynda felt her heartstrings tugged as they walked out of the room. _those poor girls don't deserve this,_ she thought as she slammed her fist down at Ironwood's command of this academy.

* * *

"Despite these fates, They proceed together as friends and lovers, capable of knowing the pains of the other." This line gave him an answer to how such a bond formed. Love such a thing can push even the purest heroes or the most devious villains to do evil or good to protect their loved ones. This was a pain the dark figure knew well.

* * *

Outside of Goodwitch's office, Ruby and Weiss started walking after taking the first few steps in silence both with their heads slumped as the looked out at the dark abyss that seemed to be Beacon on this night as they left the admin building. As they walked out they were greeted by the cold air, though to them it was welcome and warm.

"So what do you think of this?" they asked each other simultaneously, both of them reacted with a look of 'this is going to get annoying quick,' as Weiss gestured for Ruby to continue.

"Well, first off I would like to tell you please don't ever. Ever scare me like that please," Ruby said slowly and emotionally though she didn't cry, as her tear ducts were sore from earlier crying.

"What do you mean Ruby?" Weiss asked not sure what Ruby was referring and why she was referring to it. To Weiss, was reasonable to ask due to the vagueness of Ruby's statement.

"That Aura transfer, as much as I thank you and owe you for that, I wouldn't want you dying to save me," Ruby said averting her gaze as she said that. At this point, her heart was racing, as she said that.

"Ruby, can I tell you something?" Weiss asked to get look and affirmative reply from Ruby, thus continuing with "I made a vow to be the best partner ever for you, and I thought, out there, what kind of partner would I be if I let you die, even at the cost of my own life," Weiss explained calmly, explaining her selfless action to her partner "beside I do care about you, you know." Her face was bright red with the last line.

"You know Weiss I am legitimately surprised you aren't freaking out about us almost being shackled together," Ruby said unsure of Weiss at the given moment as she seemed very out of character to the red head. To this Weiss flicked Ruby on the back of the head, and said,

"Well, at first admittedly I probably would have, but I am your friend Ruby," Weiss spoke putting up a bright legitimate smile that looked odd on her face, which was known for its death glares and scowls. "Besides I think we can work it out together as friends and we will make it through this," Weiss said with a pleasant tone as Ruby looked at her and said something that shocked her.

"Weiss, I understand, 'hatred'" this line got Weiss to stop in her tracks, as Ruby continued to explain outside the dorm building, "Yes, Back when we found out Blake was a Faunus, you seemed to hate the White Fang, I understand now, why you hated them," Ruby said with a lower base growl, that sounded so foreign to Weiss.

"Well, Ruby I hoped I would never hear you say that," Weiss admitted in a cold tone, buy she looked into those silver eyes of her friend and said, "But now we need to focus that hatred into a weapon, forge it into something useful, but right now, I think we should try to get some sleep." It was at this point they had walked back to their dorm where they tried to retire for the night.

* * *

"Their darkness outcasts them, as they plot revenge on those that wronged them, clad in black they march towards vengeance." This line was a shift that he interpreted as some background into what had happened to them. _Vengeance,_ The figure stopped once again he knew this topic well enough.

* * *

The morning after that night, Ruby hadn't slept, neither had Weiss Pyrrha or Nora, as they had finished getting the effects of the deceased in order in JNPR's room something that was very difficult for them to do. Outside their dorm they found a cart with enough food for the four of them, with a note from the staff hoping them the best, out in the courtyard the morning candlelight vigil began, along with the school-wide announcement that classes were canceled for the week, and that this day was in dedication to Jaune Arc, Ruby and Weiss had informed the remainder of their team about the Goodwitch conversation. They were shocked, to say the least. Looking out the window, Pyrrha spotted their worst fear, the press was here and Ironwood was in front of them. Fearing this as a very bad omen of the things to come, Pyrrha took out her scroll and looked at the news headlines the first in big bold letters at the top of the page was,

* * *

"Four Dead at Beacon Academy, due to an error in leadership by a 'Prodigy Student',"

* * *

Looking through the article her green eyes shot wide at the things Ironwood had said, though Ruby's name was never said, though it was heavily implied by the article, though the names of the four deceased were clearly plastered all across the article.

Though across Remnant reactions to this news was that of shock and horror, as suggested by the comments. Pyrrha quickly got her fellow teammates to look at the article all of them were disgusted, as Glynda's prediction came to pass. Nora herself had her fists clenched threatening the life of Ironwood with various threats of violent repercussions. After a few minutes Weiss suggested they needed something to disguise themselves from the public eye, it was to this Ruby replied,

"cloaks, black cloaks," her voice solemn with remorse,"If they think we are evil or wrong, I say let's put on a show for them. Henceforward I think we should abandon our former colors allowing us to be anonymous among the crowd," Ruby said as she envisioned her team being the opponents to the now corrupt White Fang, looking around at her team she smiled as she imagined them in armor like that of knights, clad with a black cloak.

"Don't you think that could come off as creepy?" Pyrrha replied calmly unsure of how she felt, the idea of masking herself like that. Despite her objection, she could see the usefulness of such a cloaked appearance.

"Black is the color of grief, Pyrrha," Nora spoke solemnly, any form of cheer in her voice was dead, which concerned Pyrrha, though this conversation was continued by Weiss with,

"I would find it appropriate that we mask ourselves as we will become know to the public in a week at the funerals, as Glynda informed us she said she expects us to attend," Weiss explained, she quite liked the idea of wearing black now especially after what had just transpired the day prior. Also due to the actions of Ironwood she wanted to distance herself from Atlas as much as possible and black is the opposite of white.

"I see, well let's go see what we can do," Pyrrha smiled in her life she had never considered changing the colors of her gear, but her friends were right.

Over the next few days the team PRWN started to burn through black dye, they had dismantled most of their outfits for this re-coloration, all fabric and leather was to be dyed black, while all metal was to be made a bright silver to accent this, they did all of this in secret avoiding the main crowds of Beacon, the moved like shadows. Teams like SSSN and CVFY stayed clear of them. They denied all outside communication from everyone minus staff. When funeral drew near they all wore their now blackened outfits. Though their outfits required one key part, something that was delivered to their dorm, coming from a local store in town. it was their four black cloaks. Which the girls quickly put on over their blackened outfit. The last touch was the dark make up they put on for the funeral.

The only colors they bore on their clothing were four clips on their cloaks. Blue for Jaune, yellow for Yang, purple for Blake and green for Lie Ren. Each of them bore them in different orders like Ruby had yellow as the first, Pyrrha had blue, Nora had green and Weiss had purple, with the rest following.

* * *

"Reeling from the prior losses they drew darker, yet darker. All prior relations cut as they gave their declaration of war." this line told the dark lord they had given in to their newfound purpose with mind and soul. Vengeance usually required such a toll, a toll he himself had paid.

* * *

The funeral was being held in the main courtyard, there were no bodies so instead the effects and images of the deceased, Ozpin was standing with a podium with all of the staff of beacon standing with him. They all looked saddened as the clouds allowed no sun to shine. In the front row was the arc family with Taiyang, a man furiously checking his scroll wanting to hear from his daughter, Qrow, who had his flask ready and on offer to his teammate, and a darkly clad woman who hid her visage behind a mask, as it only death could bring her out of hiding again. The rest were students and friend of families that came to support them. Ozpin steeled himself as he grasped the podium, as he felt this was only to be the start of things to come.

"Today we gather here to remember the lives of four students, Jaune Arc, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna and Lie Ren" Ozpin started his voice bold enough to gain the attention of all who were seated, much to his shock he did not see Ironwood joining the crowd, something he decided to take an advantage of. "I know a lot of you have heard this is now the single largest loss of life of Beacon's history, this is true I will not deny this, but the thing I would like to refute is that this all hinged on one student, a girl who lost her sister, so I would not like you to blame them-"

"If you want to blame anyone, blame the White Fang!" a female voice yelled interrupting Ozpin, to which the crowd gasped, as behind pillars came four black cloaked figured three around the same height with one that was notably taller than the others. They walked up to where Ozpin stood and he Immediately relinquished the podium as he personally wanted to hear what PRWN had to say. The crowd looked at them half glaring for interrupting the ceremony, the other half lightly sobbing, while a select few looked up with intense stares.

As the four hooded figures took the center of attention all they could tell from those cloaks was the feminine features beneath their hoods. It was at this point, another spoke, the cold and icy tone giving the audience chills as it began to sink, though those that could discern it was Weiss speaking, who said, "They were our friends-"

"Our family-" Another one continued, only the students of Beacon could venture a guess that it was Nora speaking. Though, all the cheer that her voice once possessed was flushed away with sadness.

"Our Siblings-" the first original voice spoke. To those observant enough and knew Ruby could tell it was her now. Though to those that recognized it, including Taiyang and Qrow, her voice sounded angry and spiteful, something that sounded like a foreign language to some of the students of Beacon and her family.

"And our crushes" the final taller cloaked figure spoke, her voice calmer though it masked the sadness and the those who knew the voice could tell it was Pyrrha. With their intro done, and all they eyes on them, one of the cloaked figures took to the podium. She scanned the crowd looking at each set of eyes that looked at her, some puffy and red, while some were wide with shock.

"We know the pain the friends and families are going through right now, We all wish this didn't happen, and I promise to the families with everyone present as witnesses, We the Black Knights of team Prydwen will bring the White Fang to justice for this," Ruby spoke as she kept her hood raised though she threw her arm to the side, flaring her cloak to emphasise her speech. Her voice was likened to a general. Standing in front of the crowd Ruby could feel the crowd was listening to what she said, though a few were skeptical. As she held her hand off to the side, the grieving crowd morphed into armored soldiers, standing at attention, clad in black armor and her hand shifted to that of metal.

Little known to Ruby, the other three members of her team saw this vision as well, they looked around seeing their cloaks change color to shades of gray, white and black, and they looked older. They only got a snapshot glimpse of this vision because it was over in a few mere seconds.

Continuing on, Ruby spoke calmly switching back to the topic of the funeral, "I ask everyone at Beacon and on Remnant, to never forget the names, Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Blake Belladonna," after that the team filed off and returned the podium to Ozpin who found a folded piece of paper that read, in a very orderly cursive, that suggested that Weiss penned it.

* * *

Please tell the press and students to leave us alone.

Team PRWN.

* * *

Seeing this, the kind headmaster took up this wish and announce this to all present. Though one man couldn't just let his daughter go on like this. Though it was clear they had split up in a confusing pattern as the press was present outside the funeral area and on the grounds. He followed the cloaked figure he thought was his daughter. The crowd gasped as the blonde man took off, his 'brother in law,' was going to stop him, but decided to let him do his thing as a parent, as he knew Summer would have done the same.

As Taiyang gave chase, no one dared interfere. He followed the figure and yelled, "get back here Ruby!" it was loud enough for the entirety of the campus to hear, stopping the proceedings that Ozpin had handed off to Glynda for the formal proceedings. The cloaked figure stopped and looked back, concerned at who was yelling for Ruby like that. Seeing that no one was around in this part of the courtyard, she lowered her hood exposing her snow white hair and pale skin to the lonely father. after exposing her identity, she spoke calmly and remorsefully to the now distraught father, who was now muttering and cursing how he followed the wrong girl.

Weiss looked at the man's desperation but she didn't want to cross her friend's wishes. Ruby was avoiding her family, She had been denying contact to avoid them jumping to conclusions and being pulled from Beacon, due to her sister's demise. Weiss was saddened but she needed to continue on the way back to their dorm. Seeing Mister Xiao Long so distraught made Weiss truly sad for him as she resumed her path. Raising her hood once more, she walked on.

Once all four were back in their dorm room, they lowered their hoods and smiled as they had felt they had cleared their name. Though Weiss looked at Ruby and she saw a bit of herself in her, she was becoming cold and callus. Something Weiss liked yet didn't. She sat there silently on her bunk and watched Ruby, Pyrrha, and Nora. Her focus was on Ruby, as the feelings she held towards her welled up. She wanted to help Ruby, she wanted to see her blossom into a brilliant leader and tactician, she was lost deep in thought, imagining how fierce they could become, and she wanted to be there with her every step of the way.

Though this thought filled her with fear, as her father would pull her the second he found out about what had happened, especially if he found out about the aura merge. She didn't want to think of the things he would do to Ruby if he found out about that. It was at that moment she realized she had to denounce her right as heiress, and effectively leave her family if she wanted to live in peace. _Three months, three months till I am an adult and I can do this._ Weiss was excited by this line of thought, as she would be free to do what she wanted, and not have to fear reprisal from her father.

Though in the dorm room all three of the other girls looked at Weiss, who was sitting motionless, daydreaming. As Ruby waved her hand in front of her partner's blushing face, which only made the girls ask what she was thinking of. Ruby stepped up her efforts to get Weiss out of her trance-like state by patting her shoulder and saying "Earth to Weiss," repetitively.

On the fifth repetition, Weiss came to with a, "Uh, What?" this reply got all three other girls laughing. Causing Ruby to say though her laughing

"By Monty Weiss, the only other time I saw you that lost in a daydream was the day before the dance!" Ruby teased lightheartedly, as Weiss was not the type to get lost in thought like that.

"Yes you were quite flushed," Pyrrha said with a mix of teasing and genuine concern, as the group backed off from Weiss, which is when she replied with.

"Well it is nothing of your concern," Weiss said with a cold, high and mighty tone she was infamous or famous for. After that little spat, they decided to get some rest as the sun was setting and the funeral came to an end. Though, Weiss was the only one who couldn't sleep, she felt concerned for that distraught father she saw earlier, motivated by her friendship and oath to be the best partner she could be she took Ruby's scroll and opened it, something she could do, as Ruby kept it on a slide lock with no pin or password. She opened her contacts and saw the most recent messages were from 'Dad' and 'Uncle Qrow' the two contacts she saw trying to get a hold of Ruby. Copying the contact info on her scroll she sent them both a message,

* * *

Hello, I am Weiss Schnee, I am Ruby's partner and friend, I am contacting you to let you two know she is recovering and dealing with the grief in her own way.

* * *

Weiss left it at that and put their scrolls back and laid down, and fell into the embrace of sleep. Hoping the future would be kind to them.

* * *

 **A/N: With this chapter I wanted to focus on the reaction to what had occurred, The media is something I never thought of or accounted for but considering four students had died at a school I find their involvement necessary. I also wanted to show the funeral this time around and I quite like how I wrote it.**


	3. Chapter 3: Delayed Celebration

**A/N Well this is where I rewrote a lot, so Chapter 3: Delayed Celebration.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Delayed Celebration**

* * *

"Bearing Their shackles, they walk to the beats of their drums, synchronized, never off a beat as they march on," made the Dark Lord think not only was love involved but so was training and knowledge of the other to the point of where the other could anticipate the other. If they could further be synchronized.

* * *

Falling, spinning, ripping through what felt like air but flowed like water. Ruby looked out into the void. it was a vortex of swirling energy, hues of reds purples and oranges swirling around her. She felt a scalding pain on her body as she fell through it. She tried to scream but the roar of the vortex engulfed all sound that escaped her lips. Looking in front of her she saw Weiss, her face contorted with pain. They tried reaching out to one another. though the vortex ripped them apart. Ruby could feel the tears welling in her eyes as this happened, that's when the dream ended and she fell back to blackness.

* * *

It had been three months since the incident at the mine and Ruby woke up in a cold sweat again, "the same dream again, damn!" she hissed under her breath looking up at the ceiling seeing the snow white streak tipped in blue of her hair over her right eye something that had come to full fruition a few days after the funeral. Brushing it aside she laid and stretched her sore and tense muscles. She had been practicing with her new weapon, a Mistralan Katana, she bought on a school credit Ozpin gave her for a new weapon. She had been practicing with Weiss, who was a godsend for Ruby to learn the proper techniques of using a sword.

While training they also took Glynda's advice on mastering the other's semblance, Weiss quickly mastered speed, as Ruby became proficient in Glyphs. One of the major differences was Ruby's glyphs appeared floral instead of the snowflake of Weiss's. Flicking her finger Ruby opened a small glyph and flicked it to make it go away, something Ruby did now for fun as the Glyphs made for neat party tricks, though she like Weiss was struggling with the summoning element, though it was something she looked forward to mastering, with Weiss.

It was after that when Ruby smelled the air she noted the smell of tea, a key sign Weiss was up. Ruby still couldn't believe what Weiss told a month and a half ago, it was after she told her about her being in contact with her Father and Uncle Qrow something Ruby was thankful as she managed to get them to calm down, though in the calls and the training Weiss began acting weird towards Ruby, until one day she out of the blue told Ruby "They needed to talk,"

* * *

That night, Ruby was off put by this sudden request, especially considering how nervous Weiss was when asking it of her as they left the training center at nine o'clock at night. Though in all honesty, Ruby wanted to talk about something with Weiss as well Walking through the cold air, Weiss lead Ruby to the dock that overlooked the city of Vale. Minus the few Atlesian Solders patrolling as their fleet hovered above the city along with The Amity Colosseum. Looking out towards the city Weiss smiled and spoke, "The White Fang is out there somewhere, and so is that bastard Adam Taurus," Weiss used a name that everyone in the team said with enough venom to kill an Ursa.

To which Ruby replied quite quickly with "We will crush them!" Her voice quick and harsh.

"I have no doubt to that," Weiss chuckled pleasantly, in a way that made her partner feel uncomfortable, "though that isn't what I wanted to talk about, Ruby," Weiss said turning around to face Ruby, fidgeting with her hands nervously.

"Then what did you want to talk about?" Ruby asked quite curious of what could have Weiss so nervous, "If your bastard of a fathe-"

"No. No. No. It's about us, Ruby, I am quite pleased with your grades, and you are doing great with that Katana," Weiss said weirdly as her face turned red, "at first I was denying how I felt but Ruby, I don't know you're going to take this, but I have feelings towards you, I thought you would like to know" Weiss said emptying her lungs, she tried to sound proper, but her nerves just got worse with each word. Ruby looked at her wide eyed, which made Weiss's heart sink. Though Ruby's brain was in overload, Weiss, had feelings for her. Over the course of the few seconds, Ruby tried to respond, Weiss sunk even further down into sadness. Though, before she could fall to her knees Ruby's arms explode forth from under her black cloak and embraced Weiss.

"Well I have them too, and I thought you didn't," Ruby said finally getting the words out, "I thought you were into that idiot Neptune?" Ruby asked quite curious of what happened with that?

"He's a non-issue now," Weiss said sounding truly happy, as she embraced Ruby back, tears leaking from her eyes as they looked happily at each other. "May the force be with us," Weiss said hoping Ruby would recognize it as Qrow told her that is what Ruby's Mother used to say a lot. Needless to say Ruby just kept hugging her.

That night had changed everything for the dynamic of the team. Pyrrha and Nora were happy for the newly minted couple, as it seemed to help them move past the 'incident.' Though another thing that had been occurring more and more frequently was the Visions they had been getting they had been lasting longer and showing them more, but they were always cloaked and they had energy blades, something Ruby felt was familiar though she couldn't remember it.

* * *

Back in the present Ruby groaned as she sat up in her death trap of bed. She saw Weiss sitting at the table they had set up with a dim reading light on it. Ruby took a glance at the damned digital device that told the team it was time to get up, she saw it was only four in the morning. Groaning again, she flopped back onto her bed, which lightly thudded against the wall from her motion.

"Ruby? You up too?" Weiss asked quietly being careful not to disturb the other still sleeping teammates. As she set down the paper's she was reading and slid them back into the manila folder they came in.

"Yeah another nightmare," Ruby responded, deciding it was time to get up, she rolled to the edge of the bunk. once at the edge of the bed she quietly hopped down from the bunk and walked over to Weiss at the table and quietly took a seat.

"Same, Same one?" Weiss asked, tired of these recurring dreams and visions their entire team had been having. Taking the teapot Weiss poured a cup for her partner, who less than graciously gulped it down before replying.

"Yeah," Ruby Replied bluntly as she set the cup down with a muted clack, "I think we just couldn't stand losing each other," Ruby chuckled as she reclined back in the chair. "I mean first that merged aura thing, now our dreams let's face it you aren't getting rid of me," Ruby teased Weiss with a big playful smile.

"Wouldn't try too," Weiss said calmly as three months ago she would have never said anything like this, though times had changed for her. She was quite happy with her relationship with Ruby now that it was more or less in the open.

"Good cause I wouldn't either," Ruby said in a very flirtatious way with that ever present smile. Though she remembered the fun fact of today pertaining to her partner, "Happy Birthday by the way!"

"Thank you, Ruby, Happy birthday to you too" Weiss replied with a faint smile, as the team agreed to celebrate Ruby's late birthday on the same day as Weiss's birthday though Weiss tapped her finger on the file on the table, she switched topic to the file on the table, "Also, Ruby, I did some digging and I think I may know why that mine was so hidden,"

"Why is that?" Ruby inquired, quite curious about what Weiss could have dug up.

"Distortion Dust," Weiss said bluntly, continuing to her explanation quickly and quietly, "it was unique to that mine, and it has a potential to distort Space, time, matter, even DNA to an extent though that's all theory."

"Now that's a scary form of dust and you think the White Fang could have a stock of it?" Ruby her voice concerned as she leaned in listening intensely.

"By this point, I wouldn't doubt it, and the best bit is if it detonates, it literally can remove something from existence," Weiss said alluding to the 'Incident.' Ruby was shocked such a dust even existed. she quickly caught on the allusion and responded.

"Like Yang and the others," Ruby replied with a light gasp as she thought of the potential of such dust.

"Correct" Weiss smiled. Recently Weiss had come to really appreciate Ruby's growing intellect even to the point of where she is getting A's in her classes and really taking school seriously. To Weiss this change would always seem alien, and out of place. Though as the Heiress looked up at Ruby something changed while she looked at her it was there and it flashed away.

It was another vision, though it was clearer than all those prior. What she saw looked like Ruby but much taller and meaner looking her face was scorched on her right side and eyes were glowing a golden hue, but something looked beautiful about her. She had the body of an adult as well. Despite these daunting changes Ruby still looked very appealing to Weiss.

Little known to her, Ruby just saw a similar occurrence Weiss looked like a Dark woman with a burn on the left side of her neck with three more scars under her left ice blue eye and a scarab-like mark on her forehead. Her hair was shortened and there was an eyepatch on her left eye. though Ruby liked the look of the slight glimpse she got, though the sudden shift did still startle her, slightly.

"Well, that was interesting," Ruby spoke louder than she meant to.

"You saw that too?" Weiss asked concerned over what she had just seen. that was something that they didn't know about these visions was were they prediction of a future or 'the future'.

"So we saw a change in each other at the same time as the other?" Ruby asked, confirming the most recent vision with Weiss.

"I think so, you looked intimidating," Weiss said truthfully responding with a bit of shock=, though there was an undertone of the content.

"You looked pretty good to me," Ruby smirked, standing up and walking over to Weiss with a flirtatious look on her face.

"Knowing your new tastes, that doesn't bode well," Weiss chuckled at Ruby's new tastes of usually darker looks. Not that she minded Ruby's tastes, she just found them hard to pull off, like Ruby could.

"So what did I look like?" Ruby asked curiously. She wanted to know what her partner saw of her.

"In a few words; tall, dark and imposing," Weiss explained calmly recalling the vision.

"Tall! how tall?" Ruby inquired, leaning onto the table with intense curiosity and interest in what she could look like.

"Taller than Yang tall," Weiss responds bluntly, shocked Ruby's genetics would allow for such growth in height.

"Oh Yes! that's good to hear," Ruby cheered, shocked she won't be short forever glad all that milk would eventually pay off. Though this cheer did seem enough to wake up another one of their teammates

"What are you two love birds up to?" Nora groaned as she raised from bed, "More weird dreams?" she inquired with a yawn.

"Yes," they both responded simultaneously, one of odder thing the PN part of the team still found creepy about their aura merge.

"What are they about? They aren't about sloths, I hope," Nora inquired curiously with some silliness and chuckling involved as she hopped out of her bed.

"We both see the other being dragged away from us in some spiraling vortex, and no sloth involvement," Ruby explained with a few exaggerated hand gestures, while also dismissing the silliness of the hammer user.

"That's weird, any ideas?" Nora inquired about the meaning of the dreams.

"None," they both responded at the same time, again.

"Well I think we should get ready for today, Ruby" Weiss suggested with a bit of a smirk as she stood up and stretched. _Well, today we can relax and have a good time,_ Weiss thought as she worked out the kinks in her muscles, as Ruby started to brush her teeth and get dressed, while Nora roused Pyrrha. Weiss smiled as she had quite a few strings pulled to gets some interesting gifts for Ruby. The girls had themselves fully dressed by five thirty in the morning and were ready to go out though they got breakfast and waited till the Airships arrived before fully heading out.

* * *

The morning outside was cold and foggy, as the four walked the crowd of students parted as no one in their right mind would get in their way. Cardin's team learned that the hard way after insulting them the day after the funerals of their friends. He now won't even go near them, if they could get close to them due to severe femoral trauma and various other injuries, and neither will anyone else, as CRDL was the example to the campus. They were now outcasts though the four of them like this. Of course, they got punished for the attack on CRDL, but it was minor, as Velvet recorded the altercation and gave it to Ozpin.

Who in turn reduced the punishment to PRWN to minor at worst, and informed CRDL that they were in the wrong, as at the funeral PRWN requested to be left alone on the matter, and they actively went to antagonize them. it was there Ozpin laid down the law on CRDL informing them of potential expulsion if their actions of antagonizing fellow students continued.

"So Weiss, where are we going?" Nora asked calmly. Of all of them, the Incident had affected her most. As it turned the normally hyperactive hammer wielder into a brooding and gloomy person. Most of Beacon welcomed the change, though, her team missed her cheery demeanor. though one thing of old Nora still remained and that was her insanity.

"Somewhere I think Ruby would enjoy," Weiss said with a smile continuing towards the docking platform "After all, we are trying to celebrate her birthday three months late"

In the distance, Ruby saw someone looking on in the distance the gray coat, red cape, and large sword immediately gave away who it was, a dusty old, for once sober, crow. This got Ruby running, slamming into her uncle with a massive hug as she screamed, "Uncle Qrow!"

"My god, Ruby!" Qrow grunted as Ruby rammed into him. She was happy to see her uncle again under less stressful circumstances.

"Sorry mister Branwen," Weiss spoke apologetically, shamefully chuckling at Ruby's actions. This was one of the only excited outbursts she had seen from Ruby since the incident.

"No worries, Lil' Icy, good to see Ruby still has some fun in her," Qrow smiled using the nickname he gave Weiss, which did get her to cringe slightly. Apparently, Qrow knew her sister and to him, she was the Ice Queen, not Weiss.

"Yes, though I take it you have them," Weiss asked of Qrow, not going to comment on the use of his nickname for her.

"Yeah I brought them, still curious why Ruby likes these things now, but hey everyone changes," Qrow said commenting on the gift inside the heavy plastic weapon case.

"Good, Ruby I had something very special commissioned for you, Mister Branwen," Weiss said as Qrow retrieved the large case it was about four feet in length He set it down and opened it and inside was a new sword like Ruby's current one though much more decorated and elegant, the blade was a bit straighter and a cross guard and more Atlesian in design looking like a cutting version of Myrtenaster aesthetically, without the dust cylinder, "Go ahead, pick it up, Ruby," Weiss said with a smile as Ruby reached for the hilt.

Doing as instructed she picked up the new sword and when she did, she got another vision she saw her hand flash to a metal prosthesis and the blade in her hand flashed to that of a glowing blade with a blood red edge with a rose core with a cross guard of the same energy. she looked at the three of her friends they were all cloaked in black cloaks, though Ruby could see they all looked different under their hoods and Ruby looked back towards Qrow he was gone and Ruby just saw a group of four other cloaked figures. The vision fading Ruby collapsed though as she did Weiss caught her and asked "Ruby, are you okay?!"

"Sorry, I just had another one of those visions we all have been getting," Ruby said, holding her hand to her eyes to allow them to recover.

"Visions?" Qrow inquired cautiously, remembering Summer used to get them a lot.

"Ugh, they are nothing to worry about, uncle," Ruby said getting back to her feet to examine her new blade dismissing her uncle's concerns.

"Recognize the metal?" Weiss said teasing Ruby. Ruby's eyes went wide with the realization of them metal the blade was composed of, Crescent Rose's blades. She had the alloy custom made just for her weapon and it was unique with how it was made. seeing the shine and glints of the blade she could confirm it as she looked at the Damascus pattern.

"This is made from Crescent's blade!" Ruby squealed, as she kept her focus on the blade, the craftsmanship was way beyond even her own level.

"Yes it is, reforged from a welded billet into a Damascus billet then folded one hundred times for good measure," Weiss spoke in a tone almost lecturing Ruby about the weapon. Though, she did it with as smile. "I spared no expense pulling this one for you."

"This Katana is amazing" Ruby yelled, darting over to hug Weiss with the blade still in hand but she didn't skewer Weiss on it so no one cared as she hugged her.

"Correction Ruby it's called a Kreigsmesser, you dolt!" Weiss chuckled finally getting to use her nickname for Ruby again as Weiss embraced the overjoyed redhead. Though after a second released her so Ruby could continue her examination of the blade.

"Well, that's a cool name" Ruby Smiled, holding the sword parallel to her face to see her reflection in the blade and inspecting the folding of the metal. The pattern was beautiful and wavy, it gave the air of a sharp, well forged, blade.

"It's an Atlesian Sword design," Weiss adding in a tone making it sound superior to the old Mistralan design, "and it's infused with a special kind of wind dust for more distant cutting and propulsion," Weiss added as Ruby focused her aura on activating the blades effects. Seeing the blade glow a green hue Ruby sliced the blade through the air feeling the resistance as the cutting edge of air formed, she knew what she knew immediately could do with the blade.

"This is amazing Weiss," Ruby gasped, examining every intricacy of the blade as the fuller bore a floral scroll work in it.

"But I did have some other things commissioned for us," Lifting the first foam layer up it revealed four knives sheathed in a red leather each handle and sheath had one of the four teammates symbols on it. Weiss took them out and distributed them "they have one edge on the tip and a recess to interlock with another edge."

"Wow, you guys sure you aren't a cult yet?" Qrow inquired with a joking but slightly serious tone. As he tugged the flask he was infamous for out of his back pocket.

"These are utility survival knives with an interlocking function, they are not cult daggers," Weiss said with a slight scowl insulted by the comment, as they got that exact comment a lot.

" _Right,_ " the Qrow retorted sarcastically," also you have a gift and another gift for Ruby from me and Taiyang. The Blue one is for Ruby, and the Red one is for you, also I know it is your Birthday so consider it Ruby's to you gift as well." Qrow smiled handing the jewelry box to Weiss giving Ruby a wink as he knew they were a thing.

"So I wonder what they got us, Weiss," Asked Ruby, as Weiss gasped as she opened the box inside was two elongated hexagons, one made out sapphire, the other made of ruby, the colored gems having a hybrid of Weiss's and Ruby's emblems prominently displayed in the engraving.

"Still think my family wouldn't accept you, Weiss," Ruby said ripping the sapphire necklace out of the box and putting around her neck.

"Not anymore," Weiss smiled with tears on her face as she put on the ruby necklace, "Happy birthday Ruby!" She said hugging her partner tightly as a sharp gust of wind hit and some onlookers watched this as they waited on the next morning airship.

"Glad to finally be able to say it, happy birthday Ruby and Weiss," Pyrrha smiled as she walked up to look at the glimmering gems.

"Agreed it's good to say it, happy birthday Ruby and Weiss!" Nora joined in with cheer and vigor, like before the incident.

"Yeah happy birthday," Qrow said as he took out his flask and took a few swigs as pseudo toast.

"I say we test this interlocking knife thing," Ruby suggested as she drew her knife out and held it by the grip the other three followed and they connected them to form the four pointed cross Weiss thought up. "We are the Black Knights!" Ruby smirked as they stood holding the knives.

"We are the Black Knights," Weiss said followed by Pyrrha then Nora.

"Well, then I say why don't we go to town and celebrate birthdays," Ruby Cheered, looking out towards Vale.

"Of course I've got a few more surprises for today," Weiss smiled thinking of the few places they had to go, "but before we do Ruby you know what this spot is?"

"Judging by the subtle dent in the tiles, this is where I met you," Ruby smirked, remembering how pissed Weiss was that day, she still had that 'Dust for Dummies' pamphlet somewhere.

"Damn, I thought you wouldn't remember," Weiss Chuckled actually expecting Ruby to not remember. Though Ruby's first day at Beacon was a memorable one.

"Weiss, you know how I am now," Ruby smiled teasing Weiss with a bright smile as she feigned a playful sneeze with an explosion sound effect.

"Yes I do and I love it," Weiss chuckled with an approval of the joke.

"Well, the airship is here! I say let's go," Ruby Cheered

"One sec kiddo," Qrow spoke grabbing Ruby's black cloak, "I want you to call Taiyang tonight okay, he is worried about you kiddo," Qrow, said seriously as the fresh smell of alcohol wafted out of his mouth, "Well I have to go meet with an old friend so have fun girls and Ruby be careful with that blade its sharp, Weiss tell your sister I said 'hi'."

* * *

"When faced with separation, they sacrifice their family to stay together with the support of the others." This line shocked the dark lord as he continued his walk. He himself had few memories of his own family though the ones he had he treasured.

* * *

The airship ride was calm enough Ruby was silently examining her new blade before sheathing it and resting it on her lap. Weiss like seeing Ruby examining, she could tell Ruby was thinking about how to work her fighting style to use this weapon to its maximum potential. Nora was dozed off in the corner next to Pyrrha who was reading a book, While Weiss looked at the ruby on her neck.

 _Never again will I be alone._ Weiss thought as she held the gem to her heart. Ruby meant so much to her now, she was more than just a friend now. She smiled thankful they did have that successful aura bond despite the supposed downsides, it worked out well. So far they had been on a few dates in town on the weekends. They could feel the bond between them when they sparred and trained. She loved it.

To Weiss, this bond was a form leverage for her to convince her family to let her be with Ruby when she went back home. she knew her family would not approve her new found love as her marrying someone of much greater importance was an accepted fact and something her father demanded. She did have a contingency if it turned out she no choice in who she would marry, but not anymore if they refused Ruby, she came to a conclusion she would leave her family if need be. though, her reminiscing on the world and her family was cut short as the airship docked up in the Vale dock.

Ruby was the first to stand up after landing. This was to sash up her new sword, something Ruby did with great pride. With their dark hoods up they proceeded off the ship and into town. Even here the fog had not relented today and a light rain had started. Weiss cursed the weather though she thanked her new cloak was water resistant as nothing was going to stop today. the Knights continued walking as they approached the first stop a very high-end armorer, who dealt in light personal plate armor.

Here they picked up another gift for all four of them, their new combat gear. Formed to their measurement, the full plate armor covered their chest with segmented, adjustable stomach armor. Full plates covered their arms and legs all of which fit to a body suit that comprised of ballistic and impact resistant foams and fabrics with a high-end liquid cooling system. The entire suit was tailored for each user's body. Attached to the under suit was form fitting neoprene face mask that was to further conceal their identity. Lastly was a one-way ballistic Lexan visor, that was polarized and even further made them anonymous and look like knights. Though the outfit looked like the designer had a love for a hybrid between sci-fi and the medieval.

Deciding to break in these new suits, they all equipped them and made sure they fit. Ruby was the first to have hers on, she was like a child putting on wanted clothes at Christmas time. The suit was heavier than what her frame was used to, but not too over encumbering for her. The joints allowed her to move with a full range of movement. The black plates fit snugly and didn't slip or slide at all.

Once the team was dressed in their new gear, they bagged their old outfits and left them for pick up so they didn't have to lug them around for the rest of the day. So latching their visors to their belts and pulling their masks down they left the shop together chatting about their new armor.

They walked around, going to a mall, the docks, and a few parks. The drizzle kept the crowds away they were going to, it was a very high-class Restaurant, Weiss had made some reservations for, about a month in advance.

"Wow, Weiss you actually managed to book reservations for this place," Pyrrha inquired calmly, her mind spinning as this was one of the highest class places on Remnant. That usually required lots of money and months in advance to even book a reservation.

"Waving around my name has its perks," Weiss smirked as she answered Pyrrha's inquiry. Ruby was quickly checking over her appearance as this was, as Pyrrha implied this place was top of the line.

"You sure this is the proper attire for this," Ruby inquired nervously, not having any experience with fancy restaurant dining experience, even after going on a few dates with Weiss. Lowering their damp hoods they entered as Weiss replied.

"They should overlook it," Weiss's voice was confident and stoic, a key sign she knew what she was talking about. Which also told the group some level of bribery, threats were involved, or even just the mention of her name could have achieved this desired effect. Considering all they had to do was walk in, and Weiss showed the man at the door her Scroll and they let the four of them right in while an attendant took them to a corner booth. the place looked like a chateau's main hall on the inside dining area.

"I have a feeling this should be fun!" Nora smiled in her calm neutral demeanor, which even after three months still seemed out of place for her, as she still had her fits of insane joy. They found the table Weiss had reserved specifically for tonight a corner booth for four.

After getting seated and get situated in the restaurant, Ruby noticed the staff were on the best behavior though it didn't take long to realize why there were two Schnee's in the restaurant. This became even more evident when Weiss looked at the center of the dining area, her head snapped back eyes wide. The temptation to abandon the restaurant was there, written on the look on her face.

"What's wrong Weiss?" Pyrrha inquired, as the little color in Weiss's face had left and an ashen pallor replaced it. This shocked the team and caused them to enter a state of alert over what bugged Weiss.

"Winter is here," Weiss hissed, Screaming in her head. This one phrase sent the team onto alert, all of them glancing at her sister in the center. Under any other circumstance Weiss would have loved to see her sister, but now, no not one bit.

"We should be fine," Ruby said calmly looking through the menu. Weiss however, was creating contingency A through Z in her head as She knew her sister would come over to see her due to the date. Ruby felt Weiss's heart skipping quite a few beats that's when Ruby said, "Weiss, we will be fine not like our dates haven't had hiccups like this before," trying to alleviate her girlfriend's stress.

"Well, my family has never been involved!" Weiss hissed quietly and vigorously, nervous of how her sister would respond to her team and Ruby.

"We can handle it, Weiss" Pyrrha smiled confidently putting a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "We will take care of her if she comes over here."

"Do I hear someone need their legs broken?" Nora smiled lightly her voice more quiet and malicious now, and a lot of people would consider that to be a serious threat nowadays especially Cardin's team, Nora broke all of their legs for the insults they threw at them, so she had done it before and would do it again if allowed. Though the team mainly found Nora's threats amusing and funny as she could time them just perfectly to be humorous.

"Nora, please refrain from that kind of thinking, please, she is my sister," Weiss chuckled, as Nora's threats were amusing and a joke to the team. Though, the continuation Weiss gave was serious, "Nora I appreciate having the option."

"But anyway we are here to celebrate Ruby's and your birthday we shouldn't let your sister stop us," Pyrrha said not realizing that Winter would most likely make a point of stopping over," besides you don't need to tell her about the thing between you and Ruby, or the fact you two are in a relationship."

"That is true," Weiss said hoping she wouldn't notice the four in the black cloaks in a corner booth. Though her luck was damned, as one of the waiters did approach her table and talk to her gesturing to their booth and Weiss just mutter curses under her breath. Noticing the gesture from the corner of her eye Weiss knew she was excusing herself to come over to the corner booth. Her walking over felt like hours as she tried to distract herself with the menu.

"Greetings Weiss," the ice queen said calmly, to the four sitting at the table she cast an imposing image onto the fine wood table.

"Winter," Weiss responded coldly, avoiding her sister's gaze.

"I've been really concerned for you over the past few months you haven't answered any of my letters," Winter said concerned, like Ruby, Weiss refused to have any correspondence with her family after the incident. As Winter looked over the table she saw them all dressed in black, "I'm not sure I like this new outfit you have going."

"As you can see, we are all dressed like this," Weiss said trying to lessen the potential for misunderstanding, which in reality only increased it.

"Yes, though we as Schnees wear white," Winter said stating a fact but then again most of Atlas wears white. "Even in dire times we have to appear as shining beacons to the populous," Winter spoke repeating the rhetoric her father told them every time they got dress and went out.

"Not anymore," Weiss grumbled under her breath as her sister's scrutiny examined how far her sister's rebellion to the Schnee creed was going now. The next object of her focus was her hair.

"Also what is with your hair?!" She said in shock just noticing the black streak that ended in red tips that were now part of Weiss's bangs along with the dark blue tips in her hair.

"Nothing of your concern, sister," Weiss responded stonewalling her sister. It became even more evident to Winter by the glares from the team she was not wanted here, but her concern for her sister overrode that fact.

"Like it is not any of my concern! you are my sister" Winter retorted but Weiss gave her a death stare that would freeze anyone in their tracks except her sister. "So this is your team, huh, they look more like a cult to me," Winter said glancing over the black-clad team "R-W-B-Y is it?" this blunder made everyone just stop for a second as Ruby spoke up to Winter with darkness in her voice "Team RWBY is dead, we are now team Prydwen abbreviated P-R-W-N though we prefer the name Black Knights"

"What does that mean, and who are you?" Winter inquired, looking at Ruby strangely who despite her small stature, was actually managing to unnerve Winter with her voice. Winter's eyes went wide , the incident at Beacon months ago, this was the infamous Prydwen Black Knights she was dealing with, a group she herself felt deep sympathy for, due to the way the White Fang had affected them.

"I am Ruby Rose leader of this team," Ruby responded, Starting to get angered. She wanted Winter to leave. Now.

Though, Weiss continued before Ruby had time to get angry at Winter. "The reason I've been so distant is because I lost four good Friends, and our original teams were dissolved to form this one." This shocked Winter as Weiss had always been writing how nice of a person Ruby was though from what she saw and just heard she realized she stepped on a very big land mine as she connected the reports of this team to the people she saw in front of her.

Realizing how traumatized this team must be. "Wow I'm sorry, I did not realize, Weiss, you must forgive me," She said actually losing her stoic attitude, "considering the transgression I have committed on your day of birth, I must apologize but I promised father I would give you this message," Winter spoke as she handed her younger sister her scroll which Weiss read,

* * *

Weiss, If you are reading this, over this Summer you will return to White Castle to meet your future husband, there will be no debate your marriage to him is for the best of the family, I expect you to call me in the next few days, or you will be withdrawn from Beacon at the end of the Semester.

Your Father, Jaques Schnee.

* * *

It was at this point Weiss handed the scroll to her teammates, something Winter did not expect, though Ruby was the last to get it, as Weiss could predict what would happen to the scroll. Though contrary to what she expected Ruby to do, which was crush the damned thing. No, Ruby handed it back though everyone in the team could sense Ruby's rage, even Winter could tell she was angry. Causing Weiss to say.

"Ruby," Weiss spoke softly as she took up her scroll, Ruby had heard the things her father 'planned' for her. She was now eighteen, thus legally an adult, and what happened next was spontaneous pecking away at her scroll Ruby looked at her wondering what she was saying. Wanting to trust Ruby with this decision as well considering she was her partner she slid her scroll across the table to Ruby. Winter, decide to step out of line as she questioned the reasoning behind what she was doing.

This was an error that had her hand arrested by her sister who snapped it causing a slight gust from the speed. Winter didn't know how Weiss moved that quickly but Ruby had her Scroll, and asked: "Weiss are you sure about this?"

She replied as she kept Winter at bay, saying "Ruby, you are my partner and friend I want you to be together with me in this, so you add to it and send it," This got Winter really concerned as to what was on that scroll now. Ruby smirked as she looked over the message one last time.

* * *

Father, This is the last straw for me, I don't care who this person is or who they are. They mean nothing to me! I have someone who truly cares for me, We have a lot in common and right now her family seems much more appealing than the one you only seem to care about when it pays dividends and profits.

I don't care what you had planned for me, Whitley can have it all. I am an adult and I am going to register as an independent student at Beacon. I want to be my own person, not the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company anymore.

Mother for someone who was given your name as my middle, I am sorry for what I must do, but I am doing what I think is right, and you always said do what is right. Also, please help father cope with this. This is what I want, I want to be the best person I can be, the best partner I can be.

Winter, I am sorry for what I am doing considering you are right here but there are things beyond your understanding going on here.

I am sorry for this message but the idea of marrying against my will is frankly a repugnant idea. If you won't entertain the idea of me being my own person, I must leave this family

Ozpin, I will want to talk to you later about this.

May the force be with you all.

Weiss Schnee. Team PRWN

To Send to Father

CC to Winter, Whitley, Mother, Ozpin.

* * *

Ruby hated that Weiss had to do this, but if her Father intended to make good on her threats which he usually did. She needed to clear about what she wanted in life. To Ruby, the mere fact Weiss trusted her with this was incredible to her, Ruby learned what Weiss meant by 'having a rough time growing up.' Though she herself was nervous and so was Weiss she could feel it, causing her to ask as she made one minor edit, "Pyrrha, Nora? Will you stand with Weiss and I on this?"

With only a hint as to what was going on, they replied as Winter had backed off as Weiss stood in her way, waiting to hear what Ruby did. "We will stand with you?" Pyrrha spoke speaking for Nora, who answered,

"They want to stop you, they will do it without legs!" Nora cheered as the staff and patrons noted the standoff some taking images of the sisterly struggle. Winter came to realize by looking at her sister, she wasn't thinking of her, she was thinking of her father. Hearing her team, she knew they were all friends, the kind that would stroll through hell for each other.

Ruby hearing her teammates and friends response added one thing to the message.

* * *

Weiss Schnee Team PRWN

Ruby Rose Team PRWN's Leader and Weiss's girlfriend

Pyrrha Nikos, Team PRWN, and a Friend of Weiss

Nora Valkyrie Team PRWN, and a Friend of Weiss

* * *

Finishing the edit Ruby smiled and said one word with a finality that made Weiss smirk, and that word was "Sent!"

It was a second before the tune of Winter's scroll played, she read the message, Weiss smiled at her with a look of 'What are you going to do?'

What happened next no one expected, Winter hugged her little sister. She hoped this was going to just be a phase but reading all she read on the news and Ironwood's reports. Any word of her being part of PRWN would have dire consequences, but one thing that puzzled her was how certain her sister was about this. After the caring embrace something that made the crowd lose attention and stop prying. She looked her sister in her icy, silver tarnished eyes, and asked,

"Weiss, what makes you so sure that she will stay with you?" Winter asked, as at this age most relationships die and never return, true love at this age is a rare thing indeed.

Weiss smiled as she pulsed her light red aura. That something to show the tether to Ruby's Aura, which caused Ruby to speak saying, "I couldn't leave her if I wanted to." Winter had read files about this occurrence, and it's consequences.

"Could you two please come with me, I'm sorry but I need to talk to Weiss and Ruby, it's nothing bad okay just we need to talk now," Winter said really concerned for her sister, considering what had just occurred, this thought was an understatement. "We will be back," Winter said as Ruby and Weiss followed silently they went outside of the restaurant but she noticed Ruby and Weiss's hands on their blades respectively.

"Okay please I'm not here to break you two up, so if you would calm down that would be great," Winter said with a gentler tone, "And I am fully sorry for my actions."

"Ruby, please stand down, I believe you sister, so what did you want to say?" Weiss inquired calmly as she got the feeling Winter was going to be going into her supportive big sister role.

"That bond, between you two, how did that form?" Winter asked with ever more legitimate concern in her voice. As Ruby relaxed leaning on a wall

"Ruby was about to die so I did what I had to do. I couldn't bear watching her die," Weiss explained trying not to tear up from the swell and flow of the memories, "We had lost so much at that point"

"Then I came to check on them and I noticed Weiss wasn't doing to good like something had sapped her aura away and after losing my team I couldn't lose her," Ruby explained long-windedly fast, "and little did I know what Weiss did, so yeah we formed a bond."

"Well I must say though your actions were reckless, they were both very selfless, Father is going to hate what I am going to do, but Weiss I'm glad you found a friend like this," Winter said, with a gentle smile, as she truly wanted what Weiss wanted. "You have my full support Sister, I will not let father get to you"

"Thank you sister, I thought you wouldn't understand," Weiss said slightly deadpanning at Winter's ability to understand situations.

"Oh At first I didn't, but hearing all that is involved now, I do," Winter spoke pleasantly to the two of them giving Ruby a friendly smile. "Also I'm so sorry your birthday celebration got interrupted by me, had I known the situation I would have stayed back."

"Well good to know your with us, Winter," Ruby smiled pleasantly, actually surprised by Winter's support.

"Well I should be off or my friends are going to worry, also Please you two have, please have a pleasant birthday," Winter smiled walking back into the restaurant, not as an enemy to Ruby and Weiss but an ally

"Well, that went well, better than expected," Ruby Smiled, "Thought I may need to draw this on her" Ruby continued patting the blade on her belt, though much to Ruby's surprise she found herself in an embrace from Weiss. Her tears were not of sadness but joy. She had done it, she was truly free from her father. Deciding to be public about their relationship Ruby and Weiss walked back into the restaurant holding hands, fingers intertwined.

* * *

The Dinner was excellent, Ruby thought the food was great, even getting a few cookies that were so good. She almost wanted to check the back to see if her mom was back there, considering how Weiss was bringing people together for this, but Ruby knew how impossible that would be. They all had a good time. After the 'disturbance' and after they had finished eating Winter came back to ask Ruby for her scroll info and informed the team she was reassigned to beacon for the time being. Aside from that, they had fun, but that would be the last time for that in a long time.

* * *

 **A/N Well I was informed that the restraint scene seemed a bit out of character originally. I think I fixed that issue while making it a bit more dramatic and used some more White Rose shipping tropes.**

 **Edit: 10/7/2016, Changed a detail in the vision, (Its so minor, I don't know why I am drawing attention to the retcon.)**


	4. Chapter 4: The Blood of Remnant

**A/N I am burning myself out on A/Ns but either way, Chapter 4: The Blood of Remnant**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Blood of Remnant**

* * *

"With most ties cut, the time of their vengeance along with their transformation draws ever closer." With this line, the cloaked figure realized they probably lusted for revenge, by this point but he had no true measure of who they were, or what had wronged them.

* * *

As the days passed, all of the School's Teams were either participating in the Vytal Festival or out on missions. As Team Prydwen was stuck on the proverbial shelf, for now, not having anything to do as they were barred from both those thing. Though, if they were allowed to compete, they probably would have dominated the competition.

Weiss was now an independent student at Beacon bearing her last name as only a name. Weiss was now someone who Taiyang was looking forward to meeting when summer break came. Winter was a massive help to the couple as well, informing them of the aftermath of Weiss's departure from the family, as expected at first he try pressuring Ozpin, who told him with a smile, "She is an adult now, she can do this, you have no legal say in this if she doesn't want you to have any."

Then came the threats of force and violence against her team, which got reported. Ozpin smiled as this scandal got Jaques Schnee kicked off the security council, and he was one of the major factors behind Atlas's deployment in Vale. Though once again PRWN was in the news, though in the gossip section, rather than the headlines, though the shock that a Schnee left the family was unprecedented.

* * *

"This is so damn dull!" Ruby grunted, Flopping onto her bed waiting for Weiss and Pyrrha to come back from assisting professors, a hobby they had on the slow days. They all helped out around the school when they could as they waited for the White Fang to curl it lips again and bare its teeth.

"Tell me about it," Nora Groaned from her bed, as she made a noise akin to a baby sloth, something she had been practicing since she saw a video of them on the internet, which she had shown to her team over twenty times by now. "With classes on hold, this has really made things a drag," Nora said slumping down opening up her scroll

"And we can't leave campus due to Ironwoods newest orders," Ruby said looking at Nora, contempt burning in her eyes "Damn it, I hate him!" Ruby cursed his name, once again wishing she had Crescent in the meeting with him. That's when the ring tone of Ruby's Scroll went off; it was Ozpin, who sent a message to report to his office immediately.

"I'll be back, Nora, Ozpin wants to see me," Ruby said getting up with a slight growl in her voice, Ruby after the incident had become very outspoken against Ozpin and Ironwood. She didn't hate Ozpin, she just didn't like him anymore, as he seemed to distance himself after the incident. Though, as of late he had been a great help and had been regaining some of Ruby's favor. Ironwood is the one she hated. To most, prior to the incident, no one could take Ruby seriously when she said she hated something, though everyone knew about Prydwen's grudge against Ironwood. Ruby quickly went from that kind, sweet hearted girl that everyone liked, to a sixteen-year old that could get Cardin Winchester to prostrate himself at her feet after Nora was through with his team. Though they did maintain a friendly demeanor in class and when dealing with others unless they managed to upset them.

Their grudge against Ironwood had been edging ever closer to the grudge they held against the White Fang. Mainly due to his attempting to 'convince' Weiss to reconsider her actions. Something Ozpin himself stepped in on as did the media, as even in dark times focusing on celebrities or big names was still appealing to some. Though Ruby didn't want to continue down that lane of memories as they were still fresh and something that quickly pissed her off.

Walking through the dormitory corridor alone was nothing new to Ruby as she often went out at night to look at the sky at night. She liked to watch the fractured moon when some horrible vision kept her up at night. When she reached the door, she was thankful her cloak was water resistant, as a massive thunderstorm unlike any she had ever seen had been rattling the school for two days. As she opened the door she prepped to engage her semblance. Rushing, whipping, she felt the coarseness of the air on her face as she bolted, and it wasn't just the rain, the air was palpable, she had a very bad feeling about the days to come.

After reaching the main spire of beacon Academy she proceeded to the elevator to Ozpin's office. Entering this elevator just gave her very vivid flashbacks to that day. Considering, in the amount of time between now and then, this is the first time she's entered this elevator since then. Her heart racing, she wondered what Ozpin could want, and that's when she realized she would know soon enough. She was only on the elevator for about forty-five seconds when it came to the top of the spire. Approaching the door she had another vision.

What she saw was unlike anything she had ever seen, everything looked high-tech, beyond the technology of Remnant. The hallway was angular and massive, red lights in the corners, though despite the lights it was still dark. With that flash of a vision, her mind flipped back to reality and she entered the office, promptly ignoring the vision.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Ruby inquired her hood still raised, water dripping from the cloak on to the floor. ,

"Yes Miss Rose, could you please lower your hood?" Ozpin asked calmly, still feeling bad about that day, despite the time that had passed. He could never forgive himself for not doing more despite the fact he was incapable of acting against Ironwood.

"Why!?" Ruby hissed back at Ozpin, she found the request a bit personal and even more creepy.

"I haven't seen your face in a while," He said in a friendly manner that came off in a slightly creepy way to the leader of the PRWN Black Knights. This answer did make the young leader recoil slightly as she replied with,

"Fine" Ruby growled from under her hood, as she lowered it slowly. Ozpin looked at her with a pleasant smile, her face despite only being sixteen, looked angrier and her eyes looked a bit duller than he remembered. Though he decided to focus on the most obvious changes first, mainly the Aura merge changes.

"I will say that streak of white looks out of place," Ozpin said bluntly, also noting the silver in her eye was tarnished with ice blue at the edges of the iris where it connected with the pupil and the sclera. "Though it is not unattractive," Ozpin continued not trying to offend the young rose.

"I like it," Ruby replied with a slight hostile growl in her voice. Ozpin had been trying to calculate how much irreparable damage Ironwood had done to this girl. He feared for what Ruby was capable of as her mother was quite a capable warrior Ruby had speed and glyphs, and maybe even Summer's abilities. If this was the case Ruby could be one of the most powerful people at Beacon.

"Well that is good to hear, as you are somewhat stuck with it," Ozpin conceded bluntly, as his tone saddened a bit, as he cursed not keeping a closer eye on what Ironwood did with his students, considering the Atlesian military recruitment that was being done on his campus

"So what did you want?" Ruby inquired slightly annoyed with the Silver-haired man not explaining the purpose of this meeting to her.

"I have some information for a mission" Ozpin spoke calmly as he sat at his desk, his fingers interlaced in front of him and that elicited a smirk on Ruby's face, he knew it would.

"Disregarding Ironwood, are we?" Ruby said in a teasing manner as Cheshire smile curled on her cheeks. This had her interests peaked.

"Damn Ironwood for what he's done to my academy," Ozpin growled through his teeth, Ruby had never seen him angry but she did like it. Ozpin then continued with. "This isn't my idea, though."

"It was mine," spoke a calm voice emerging from the corner of the room as she emerged it was Winter, one of Ruby's personal friends, considering how she helped "The White Fang, we suspect could attack the Vytal Festival and hold it hostage or attempt to destroy it."

"I take it Ironwood, knows about this?" Ruby inquired, curious of the implications of Winter's suspicions. Something Ruby felt told her Ironwood knew already, which made her smirk grow if Winter was disobeying her superior.

"Yes though he is blinded along with the council, thinking they couldn't pull it off, that they don't have the resources," Winter said with a malice in her voice. It was evident she cared about the security of the event something that Ironwood had been ignoring as of late despite his job.

"You think they do, Winter?" Ruby asked of Winter curious of her sources and what the White Fang was planning if Winter knew herself.

"Absolutely," Winter replied calmly "They have stocks of Distortion dust and are most likely going to try to eliminate the arena with it, and Ironwood refuses to believe me."

"Why us?" Ruby asked legitimately curious.

"I figured you four would want to get some revenge, and your skills seem quite valuable," Winter explained with a wink, "Though I trust my sister and you more than any of Atlesian military at this moment, considering what they tried to do for my father. Thankfully Ozpin intervened with that," Winter said giving the headmaster a gentle smile, though there was a hint of ambition in her voice.

"Then, you have my support," Ruby returned with a smile that looked more at home on a psycho's face than hers, "So how is this going to work?"

"When they attack you will be contacted, at which point I will brief you on the way there," Winter explained calmly, "Due to this, I've made a request with Ozpin that you may keep your weapons with you at all times."

"Awesome!"Ruby cheered like her old self though her cheer did have a hint of darkness, "besides we've been really training up for missions."

"I still don't know why Ironwood banned your team from the Vytal festival," Winter complained to no one in particular really wishing to see how Ruby was in combat.

"Their restriction was because Ironwood wanted to make them angry." Ozpin replied calmly, "He's trying to groom them to be soldiers, that man has betrayed everything we academies have worked so hard for." This sentence made Ruby want to puke, as she tried to picture herself in the stark white uniform of the Atlesian military. The thought was like garlic to a vampire to the young girl, an absolute 'Nope'.

"Ah, well then, I will be glad when this comes to light, and I can take his place" Winter declared, ambition riddling her voice as she herself smirked. Ruby and Ozpin had no objections to this idea of Winter replacing Ironwood at this point.

"So you really want us to get involved?" Ruby inquired slightly curious if Winter was sure about this, considering if what she had planned went even slightly wrong she could face court marshal.

"I feel you four have deserved it," Winter said with a slight scowl on her face, "and Ironwood needs to be put in his place, who better than your team to do it too," Winter saying this made Ruby smile as she extended her arm for Winter to shake as Ozpin nodded with approval with agreement of this new alliance.

With that Ruby, was dismissed. She sent out messages to her teammates, telling them they might have a mission soon and are to remain on alert until then.

* * *

"Surrounded on all sides by deception and lies. On their world, there will be a cataclysm, great enough to destroy armies and doom that world for generations to come." This made it evident to the walking man that they would endure a trial by fire in which they would succumb to the Darkside.

* * *

On this day, the semi-finals of the Vytal Tournament were taking place. As two pairs of partners readied for combat, the display screens turned blood red with the emblem of a black rook. The next thing of note to happen was the swarm of Atlesian Knights swarming the Arena like a mechanical flood. Their gears crunching and chattering as they raised their Rifles on the civilians as the live feeds continued in chilling uninterrupted detail.

The world of Remnant took a collective gasp as they watched the feed. Stunned, unable to look away as the Grimm outside the walls took exceptional note of what was happening inside. To further amplify the shock and awe the White Fang took to their bullheads and stormed Amity as well, supported by the Atlesian assets as they rounded up the students and penned them into the center of the Arena. As the world looked on at this info shocked at beacon something was happening. The clatter of black armor, the rattle of blacked out weapons, the whipping of cloaks in the blast of the Jet engines of the bull head as the thunderstorm resumed in full force.

It was happening somewhat like Winter predicted a massive force of White Fang assisted by AKs took the Vytal Festival arena by storm. Overwhelmed and outgunned those in the Colosseum had no method of fighting back. Holding them in the center arena at gun point all the students were there minus Prydwen and a few other that were out on missions. As the world watched in shock as all of Atlas's military assets were compromised and hacked, then used against them, Ironwood had failed, and the world knew it and he was nowhere to be found.

The Bullhead that was heading for the arena is where Winter and the four black knights were preparing for their assault. Clad in their new outfits, their hoods up, their identities concealed by neoprene half face masks and black visors to cover their eyes. They looked like knights now, seeing these outfits unsettled Winter to a Nth degree, but she ignored them as Weiss explained this was agreed upon by the team. Looking out at the Turbulent sky Winter could only mutter to herself, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"So Winter, what's it look like down there?" Ruby inquired lowering her face mask to talk unimpeded.

"It is bad," _Understatement of my life,_ Winter thought as she continued"lots of hostages, bombs, and about five hundred White Fang members," Winter spoke briefing the knights.

"Any sign of their leaders?" Weiss inquired about locations of the main targets. Hoping they could cut the head off of the proverbial snake, thus collapsing the White Fang.

"Yes the press box is where their main leader, Adam Taurus, is located," Winter explained bringing up blueprints of the press box on her scroll. "We also have word of a rogue Mistralan team that will need to be dealt with as well."

"Anyone else coming with us?" Ruby inquired about reinforcements, she was hopeful there would be some but she had to make sure.

"Rumors only, though if what I'm told is true, Ozpin is gathering some of his forces," Winter responded, knowing most likely who would be brought in, she cringed at the thought of that man, but she would tolerate him as anyone offering their help was needed for this.

"Touchdown in fifteen seconds," the bull head pilot said in a stressed tone, as flying this high in a hull head was a bad idea with this kind of weather.

"Pyrrha and Nora you are to control the fodder in the Arena, Ruby, Weiss you are to capture Adam. I feel the need to say this 'No Killing, you are not to kill any members of the White Fang,'" Winter stated explicitly, hearing this actually made the knight's quiver, Not one of them showed any will to kill, anyone severely harm, maybe, but not kill. This order rung throughout their heads, Winter thought they could kill.

* * *

As they deployed into the arena proper from the commandeered news bullhead. Ruby and Weiss dropped quietly in the shadows above the booth, using glyphs to slow their decent. While Nora and Pyrrha dropped into the shadows of the arena floor. Their cloaks silencing the light rattles of their armor. like shadows, they pursued their objectives Ruby and Weiss infiltrated the rear of the booth and waited for the signal, while Pyrrha and Nora silently subdued the White Fang near the shadows. The command was quick and one word in their ear pieces, "Go!"

With that, Nora and Pyrrha revealed themselves causing one of the White Fang to yell, "Who the hell are you two!?"

"We are the Black Knights," they both Responded, "and we are here to break your legs!" Nora added maliciously as they charged deploying their now blackened weapons in hand at full deployment. With that, the world began looking at the screen with a glimmer of hope in the name of the 'Black Knights.'

In the Pressbox, at the same moment, Ruby and Weiss revealed themselves by incapacitating the guards behind Adam. Who turned to face them and said: "Now this is a surprise, didn't know we had an opposition group here, no matter, you will die for intruding." He said drawing his sword and Ruby and Weiss followed suit. Both began an onslaught of attacks Adam was barely able to keep up against these two. To him, their speed was impressive, most impressive.

Down below fighting around the tied down students, Nora and Pyrrha were a sight to behold. The White Fang grunts and AKs were charging them head on like fools, getting batted out of the way as the cracks of bones being shattered and metal crunching rang through the air. Though, after enough fools had their legs inverted by well-known faces came up to them, Mercury and Emerald Weapons drawn at the two knights. "Alright I have no idea who you two are but we can let you ruin our plan, so go look somewhere else for your human sacrifices", Mercury said, never seeing these two before. Using hand gestures Pyrrha told Nora to handle Emerald while she attacked Mercury.

Up in the press box, Ruby and Weiss were overpowering Adam. The duo of red and white were making very unpredictable, fast-paced strikes on the terrorist leader. Considering the insane speed they had, and their glyphs, which gave away the identity of a Schnee, one set of their glyphs was normal while one was using a floral patterned Glyph something that was quite new to the man who had killed a Schee prior. One was using a slashing sword, with near spot on edge alignment, while the other was using a rapier with pinpoint thrusts. Parrying with both his sword and sheath, he evaded their attacks that were fueled with extreme prejudice. Their strokes fueled by a fiery vengeance that tore the air as the blades clanged.

The Faunus then noticed a slip up on the slashing blade user, and exploited it, taking his blade right down on her right arm severing it.

Ruby screamed in agony as she fell as her right arm was cut off just before the elbow. She kept screaming as blood poured out, though her crimson aura stopped the bleeding for the time. That's when Ruby heard Weiss screaming as she continued the onslaught, Weiss felt the pain in her right arm, it was like it was on fire. Weiss had to win because if she didn't Ruby would most certainly die. Clanging and ringing, the blades sang in the fury of battle, a true song of war.

Though, on the floor, Ruby noticed something next to her a shadowy dust crystal that had fallen out of a box nearby. Out of options, Ruby took the crystal in hand, realizing what it was, Distortion Dust. Looking at the battle again, she had to do something to do something to help Weiss. Despite the risk, Ruby put the crystal next onto the bloody glowing stub. Seeing the sight above her. she watched Weiss get disarmed and kicked into the wall of the box by Adam. Ruby needed to hurry, she poured her Aura into the crystal which caused a bright flash at the stump of her arm and a chain reaction.

* * *

"In realizing Their powers, Sith of age yet to come, and Sith of long past will assist Them before their arrival, and after." this thought concerned the dark lord as he walked. Did this mean Sith of the future have an interest in these heralded ones or was the universe bending itself to assist these people? This puzzled the Sith greatly.

* * *

In that second a singularity did not form but a she felt something attaching itself to her arm, and her mind was permeated with another Vision and knowledge She saw a figure looming over her in a suit of black armor his breathing sounding like that of a worn out gas mask. She felt the pain in her arm she saw his right hand hold up what looked like a flashlight and spoke in a deep raspy metallic voice.

"To you, I don't exist yet, We are the same, Sacrificing to save our loved ones, though you have a chance I never did. a prophecy told me, a powerful Sith would be raised by my arm." Ruby looked at the masked figure, his armor and raspy breathing unnerved her, the next question further unnerved her as he knew her name." Would you embrace darkness to save Weiss, Ruby?" Ruby sat there, trying to interpret what this figure meant but there was no time she needed to help Weiss, so she gave her answer as she stood taking a step forward.

"Yes, I would!" Ruby said, which gave the tall figure all he needed "then you shall have my arm Darth Fleurnoire!" He said christening her with a name she did not yet understand. Holding his arm in a prime display to the young leader, watching this his hand 'dismantled itself' into glowing fragments. Fluttering through the air, the glowing bits of metal and fabric formed onto the stub of her arm. The metal skeleton of the arm reconstructed itself before her eyes, as each nerve was painfully connected to the arm. Then it was sheathed in the fabric from the figure's arm, the process was complete as her new hand was capped with a heavy synthetic leather gauntlet. The Sheath on her belt was replaced by a socket with the 'flashlight' in it. Taking this new weapon in hand, she examined it, the darkness of the object fixated her as a black aura permeated and mixed with her own.

Though as this blackness morphed, she could feel something new, something that was always there, yet unnoticed. It was a power, a force that was empowering her, teeming with this new power, she felt alive. Her body awoken to power she started to giggle, then chuckle, then burst into a full bore manic laugh. _This is it this is the power I needed._ Ruby thought as reality resumed back to her.

* * *

 **A/N: and that was Chapter 4 of the rewrite, I really don't have much to say anymore. I may update these A/Ns later.**


	5. Chapter 5: Embrace of Darkness

**Well, this is it, Chapter 5: Embrace of Darkness**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Embrace of Darkness**

* * *

"Daughters of the force. born of the blood of lost Jedi. Their blood is unknown to them. Powers yet untapped, to be unleashed upon the Jedi and Their Destiny." This line told the sith one thing, they would indeed be strong in the force and destined for something. This gave him a smirk as he continued walking.

* * *

When Ruby returned to reality, she felt her new arm and the weapon in her hand looking behind her she saw Weiss unconscious with Adam standing over her the point of his blade only millimeters from her neck. Ruby felt anger and rage with a slight tingle in her eyes as she snapped up and growled, "Get. Away. FROM. HER. YOU BASTARD!" finishing it in a roar, as she flicked her left hand with an unknown instinct, which flung the murderous bull like a rag doll with her new found power out the window. Weiss began to recover as Ruby examined her for any major injuries. Looking up Ruby unmasked her face but what Weiss saw was not normal. Ruby's eyes had pulled a Yang and changed color to the yellow she saw in that one vision.

"Weiss, can you stand?" Ruby asked of her lover. Concerned Weiss saw Ruby's arm was back, so what just happened was beyond her. Aside from what she just saw when unconscious and the fact Ruby had her arm back she was in fact perfectly fine minus some minor confusion due to the latter.

"Yes I can, I had a weird Vision, though," she said feeling something in her hand it was like the weapon Ruby had but different hers had four spikes protruding from both ends. She felt and noticed the new amulet on the back of her right hand which caused Weiss to wonder who that man was. stood as she felt a slight scratch on her left cheek and slight burning sensation on her forehead but she ignored it as Ruby spoke.

"Well Weiss we need to get moving," Ruby said signaling with her new hand which Weiss inquired about but Ruby replied that, 'She had no Idea what happened either.' returning to the battle at hand with Ruby as she leaped out the already broken window after Ruby did.

On the arena floor, Mercury and Emerald had received assistance from Neo and Cinder, this lead to Pyrrha and Nora being incapacitated by them. as Cinder and her minions walked over to the unconscious girls, they smiled at their destroyed weapons, but it was in that moment white flashes erupted in their hands as they regained consciousness they stood up with what appeared to be flashlights in their hands. Not knowing what was going on the four stopped as the press boxes window was shattered and Adam came flying out. The crowds of hostages were cheering at this display and cheered even louder as they saw two cloaked figures leap out of the window.

"Okay, who are these people?" Cinder asked actually nervous by those weapons they had in their hands, praying they weren't what she thought they could be. Though as she reached out with her abilities she felt cold, these character's sent chills up her spine. Each was a burning beacon of darkness to her.

"Well, I think we owe them an introduction, knights, " Ruby said with a newfound menace in her voice. On that order, they dropped their visors and lowered their masks and their hoods. Their eyes made Cinder start to lose her cool inside, they were like hers, they all were glowing a sulfuric yellow, that's when she realized fully what she was dealing with. In her mind, she cursed _why now of all the times did they have to find out now!_ She knew this would happen as she said in her head, _i_ _t was only a matter of time till someone on this planet figured out they are force sensitive._ That's when she realized they were the remnants of team JNPR and RWBY, she could feel their anger and hatred towards her and the White Fang.

Ruby glanced at the thing in her hand that's when she remembered her Mother had a weapon like this that she rarely used, she remembered the one time she saw the Silver blade of energy as her mother engaged a Beowolf. As they stood in front of the crowd of captive students, who were cheering for the knights now that they saw their faces. The students of beacon leading the chant of "Black Knights! Black Knights! Black Knights!" By the third chant, even those abroad watching found themselves chanting as the cloaked heroes revealed themselves. Ruby smiling away at the chanting as she felt through her new metallic hand where the button to activate the weapon was, just in case.

"Hey fire queen, you look nervous," Nora instigated raising her weapon showing the hilt looked like that of a tooth. As half of her face now marked on her face with a pattern of black tattoos that looked tribal mainly consisting of lines and dots. Her smile even more wicked and twisted as she readied the weapon and felt a new power coursing through her veins.

"I think she knows she's lost," Pyrrha added raising her weapon up hers was bent and like Nora, she had a marking on her face, a purple oval with a scar like dashes on it on her right eye.

"I haven't lost yet girls," Cinder replied smiling even though her forces were surrounded by the four girls, she still had some tricks up her sleeve, as she came to the realization that these girls couldn't be too strong due to them just unlocking the world of the force.

"I do believe you have Cinder" a voice boomed as a bull head descended it was a voice both Weiss and Ruby knew well, it was Qrow who jumped out of the bullhead followed by Winter, Taiyang, Glynda, and Raven all with weapons at the ready minus Winter. "Well, Ruby I must say your team has done a good job subduing the threat," Winter spoke as she drew her sword.

"Ah, Mister Branwen, Miss Schnee, cocky as always but you see I haven't lost yet. Well, my apprentices time to show them your true powers," like that, massive concussive blasts erupted from the palms of Cinder's contingent, they all felt the concussive blasts which flung the newly arrived reinforcements back along with the captive students. Though, the four knights weathered the blasts, the origins of the blast were the hands of Cinders main minions, excluding Adam and Neo.

Recovering, Taiyang looked at Ruby and her team, he originally hoped Ruby would go back to being her normal cookie loving self, but seeing her now, he knew that was impossible. The look on her face told him all he needed to know, a fierce determination to end this battle, no matter the cost. Though his eyes drew to her hand which he was shocked by what Ruby was holding in her right hand. With that weapon in hand as she weathered the waves of kinetic energy bombarding them. Holding up her dominant hand the rest of Prydwen did the same. Cinder was shocked at how they were withstanding the blasts with little effort, that was when she felt how strong they truly were which could only be due to one thing they all had an outside force sensitive lineage. Retaliating, the girls threw them back with their own concussive blasts.

Recovering from the sling from the window of the press box Adam began to charge, Qrow having fully recovered himself, saw the bull Faunus charging at Ruby's back. Seeing this attack Qrow leaped into the fray parrying the incoming blow. In a quick exchange along with dirty fighting, Adam disarmed Qrow. Seeing the glint of the blade Qrow accepted his fate, opening his arms to accept the blade through his chest. His body felt no pain as the blade bisected his heart.

Seeing this everyone was in shock as Adam withdrew his sword from Qrow's body, blood spraying, coating the arena's floor and his killer. While his body was falling that's when everyone present could feel the shock in everyone's mind. Ruby's yellow eyes went wide and filled with tears of anger at this sight, as with the rest of her team. Feeling rage as Adam took another one of her loved ones. Her team feeling her Rage, Weiss especially, they all ignited their blades all a bright crimson minus one. These blades were as a source of shock to Taiyang, as Summer said to him once 'you can trust most colors of the blade just never trust those who wield a red blade.' Yet here he was watching his daughter using a blade, one like her mother's yet hers was red, as were her friends minus one the one with the snowy hair had a blue blade. Watching, he saw Ruby lash out as her blade sliced right through Adam's blade but he avoided the crimson blade.

"Adam, are the charges set?" Cinder yelled over the sound of the blades swerving in the Air, as she watched Mercury and Emerald avoiding the blades while trying to retaliate themselves. Though Pyrrha and Nora remained fierce opponents. Not having sabers of their own, they had to dodge them.

"Yes they are!" he said as he felt a burning feeling in his chest looking down he saw a crimson blade piercing the left side of his body and leaping in front, the Schnee girl pierced the right side of his chest with her blue blade. As the blades were withdrawn the silence in the arena was palpable, as Ruby and Weiss took a life. The Students, the White Fang, all of the Staff, even those across the world remnant everyone watching gasped as Adam fell dead on the floor his mask snapping in two upon his fall. All of the conflicts stopped as all eyes focused on this scene.

The silence was broken by Ruby saying "You kill my Friends, my sister, destroy my Scythe, take my arm, and now you kill my uncle, now it's your turn to pay up." The stare down between Cinder and Ruby was so tense the world could feel it through the camera feed. It was at this point Cinder drew a weapon like Ruby's and ignited it, glowing a burning orange and battle was on. the two engaged in a display of combat unseen before on Remnant. Ruby charged in with an amplified scream loud enough to rupture eardrums, followed by a loud crack and a concussive blast of air. At such a high speed, her rose petals flew like a blizzard. her blade blurring in the move fearsome display. Cinder barely parried this strike. Though she needed more defense to hold her ground, instinctively Cinder, deployed her second saber, so she can counter Weiss's incoming attacks. Cinder knew she was on the defensive, one wrong move she would lose as these two girls were overpowering her with sheer speed and ferocity.

It was at this point Pyrrha and Nora Re-engaged the other two rogues. watching in abject horror at what she just saw, Neopolitan bolted off the arena floor. She had to find Torchwick, who she knew was being held captive by the White Fang as Cinder's bargaining chip to keep her loyalty. It was time for her to get him and get the hell of this thing, lest she wanted to end up like Adam, cause she figured after Cinder, Roman would be next on Red's list. Pyrrha noted that Neo was fleeing but decided to focus on the opponent in front of her. The world watched the feed as they kept pressing forward, as the Black Knight revealed the blackness in their hearts, as they showed no mercy.

Back in the battle in the center of the arena, Cinder trying to calculate Ruby and Weiss's movements. A task that was almost impossible though the force did assist her. they were simply too fast as each of their movements boomed with the decimation of the sound barrier. Their blades crackling in the air as the collided, seeing an opening Cinder bolted back only to feel her legs to get snagged by her ankles. looking down she saw two bright red floral glyphs that had vines that engulfed the lower part of her leg. Focusing her aura, she broke them off, allowing her to use a pulse of energy to propel her escape. Back on her feet as Ruby leaped to the spot where she just was, embedding her blade into the ground. As Ruby recovered, Weiss kept up the onslaught using both her speed and glyphs to her advantage. Cinder was glad she had two blades, as even one of the girls was a pain to deal with.

Ruby reentered the fight in spectacular fashion, charging forward as her blade dragged along the ground. As Ruby swung her blade molten slag from the arena floor went up in the air. The redhead formed her flower like glyphs on the slag, propelling the molten material into Cinder's eyes blinding her and searing her face.

The pain Cinder was in caused her to lose focus on her abilities, screaming in anguish as Ruby and Weiss came in for an attack, Weiss taking Cinder's left arm at the shoulder, Ruby swiping Cinder's right leg out from under her. With the smell of burning flesh permeating the air along with Cinders pained screams. Ruby and Weiss looked at the twitching wreck with content smirks on their faces.

That's when Cinder felt her throat being constricted. As she was raised in the air facing Ruby and Weiss, who had their hands up like they were grabbing her throat. Standing side by side Ruby on the left Weiss on the right, blades retracted and affixed to their belt. Their dominant arms extended strangling the Dark Jedi, their eyes glowing the same fierce yellow as Cinder's were known for. Cinder cursed internally as Adam had the detonator and now she needed it. She felt her apprentices get subdued by Pyrrha and Nora though not outright killed, though Mercury did lose his recently discovered to be metal prosthetic legs to the crazed redhead that apparently loved attacking the legs. Taiyang saw what the two girls were doing and ran up to Ruby, though Pyrrha intercepted him saying "Please don't interfere" with the humming crimson blade close to his neck.

"Ruby! Stop this please," Taiyang pleaded with his daughter over Pyrrha, still shocked of the anger in Ruby's heart. "Please, no one else has to die!"

"Sister! please don't" Winter said limping over, only to be stopped by Nora, who had her blade lined up with Winter's injured legs, both of them caused the dark duo to release Cinder to acknowledge them, letting her fall to the ground with a loud thud. the duo turned back to back with each other and acknowledge their remaining family, along with call off Pyrrha and Nora's threats. Winter and Taiyang shocked by the looks they are getting as they look into their yellow eyes. Before they could say a word, Cinder, recovering enough from the pain, and sense her area with the force, feeling the location of Ruby and Weiss she blasted the duo with a ball of fire impacting on Ruby's right side, Weiss's left, blasting them back together and burning them. With her distraction set, Cinder sensing the location of Adam's corpse, grabbed the detonator off his belt, telekinetically bringing to her hand and clicking it.

* * *

Like the blast in the mine, the main detonation did barely anything. though the secondary distortion dust detonation formed a singularity big enough to engulf Amity Coliseum, along with all who were aboard. Though, before the singularity could fully engulf them, Ruby grabbed Weiss's arm with her prosthetic one. As they were engulfed by the singularity, Ruby felt them being pulled apart so she strengthened her grip. As she opened her eyes she saw the dreaded vortex of her dreams. Her eyes were wide with fear as she could see Weiss's were open as well but they were back to their normal ice blue color. Along with Weiss Ruby's eyes defaulted to their original silver color. That's when Ruby noticed Weiss's singular vertical scar rested three new scars intersecting perpendicularly to the vertical one along with a mark on the center of her forehead that looks sort of like a four-legged scarab. Though the most upsetting of all, she also noticed the third-degree burns on the left side of Weiss's body stopping just short of her jaw line. Ruby knew, by the pain, she was feeling in her face that she was not as lucky.

The right side of her body was burned stopping just short of her right eye. The pain she was in was unbearable but she had to keep holding on, nothing would break her grip on Weiss's left arm. Bolts of lightning from the walls of the vortex struck them both, the most powerful striking the hexagonal gems on their necks causing them to explode and fragment, unknowingly embedding shards into their chests. This strike caused them to scream more, but nothing could be heard over the roar of the vortex, as their cloak's and other loose or fragmented pieces of their armor were ripped from their persons. After what seemed like hours at hands of vortexes agonizing torture, the girls were finally released, slamming down into the cold muck.

* * *

"The Drums beat louder and closer, though you Darth Malserik will be their first step on their path to becoming Sith!" out of all the specter had said this one concerned him the most as he was mentioned by name.

Before he had time to reflect upon this prophecy, he felt a disturbance in the force so great. It felt like that of worlds being shattered in a nearby system. Startled by this new disturbance, he grabbed his half circle guarded lightsaber from his belt and readied in his right hand in a weird grip, though not igniting it. A deafening crack of the force storm rang through the swamps as he started to ready for battle. Alert and wary, the Sith saw the lightning strike down it looked very different from any of the force storm lightning he'd seen before. He began to move rapidly towards the site of the strike, unsure of what was going on, but he had the intent of figuring out what was going on.

* * *

Far away from Dromund Kaas, on Tython, the Jedi Temple was bustling with activity as always, but everything stopped, all who were there felt the disturbance upon them, though one Jedi master was undisturbed she had felt this before and she had been through it on multiple occasions she knew what was happening another battle had sent more lives off their home world throwing them into a galaxy at war.

Meditating on this disturbance, she focused on where the vortex points were opening. They were all over the galaxy unlike the last time, when they were all on Tython. One was on Tython, a lot were on Nar Shaddaa, Coruscant, a few on Taris, Alderaan, and Tatooine. Though she felt some more and discovered, there were some on Korriban and Dromund Kaas. Though quickly as it came it was gone, that's how it went with these disturbances, they were quick. The door opened behind the Jedi master and a female voice said: "Master Surik, you are required in the Council room immediately."

"Thank you, Padawan" Responded the Jedi master as she stood and unfurled a white cloak with a red rose embroidered on the back, as she walked out the door with the Padawan.

* * *

In pain, laying in the muck, Ruby squirmed to sit up; her body was in extreme pain. Looking around her environment, what she saw she could not believe. The weird trees that look twisted and sick, the storm roaring overhead, and the overall darkness this place had. She looked around some more in the second sweep she saw Weiss unconscious next to her. Squirming over to her, ignoring the cries of pain from her own body. Ruby saw the extent of the damage done to Weiss's body; third-degree burns all along her left side her armor seared off. Ruby was amazed that none of it touched her face, but not deterred by these wounds Ruby began to check Weiss's vitals. Like Weiss, Ruby's right side was burned the clothing disintegrated by the flames though one article remained unfazed on her right hand the gauntlet. Before Ruby could even put her metallic fingers to Weiss's neck to check her pulse, Weiss's eyes opened. Like a bolt of lightning, Weiss darted up and hugged Ruby. Crying she yelled, "We're alive! We're alive!"

"We are, but where?" Ruby asked out loud, just happy to see Weiss awake. Though she looked around, the environment was grimly dark. The storm above seemed unnatural, it gave off a discomforting air that made Ruby nervous. Though Weiss's hug reminded them both that they had wounds to tend to.

"No idea," Weiss responded with a bit of a grunt in her voice due to the pain of the Burns though she started to focus her Aura towards the burns which Weiss knew sadly were going to scar, she felt Ruby focusing her Aura on doing the same. "But, it's fitting isn't it, that we get caught in the blast"

"Yeah, it is," Ruby replied solemnly, her voice filled with sorrow as she recalled the battle. As her aura turned the burned flesh into leathery pink scar tissue, "I can't believe we did that."

"Did what?" Weiss inquired solemnly as she watched the scar tissue form on their burns.

"Killed Adam," Ruby Responded bluntly, her voice filled with remorse, She felt bad as the revenge she got was bittersweet. The bitter becoming more evident with each passing second in that swamp. "and that we went flat out berserk on Cinder."

"Yeah well they killed all of our friends, Ruby, and he killed Qrow," Weiss said, her voice filled with guilt and remorse, as well as she was trying to justify her actions.

"I know but now we are no better than him, I wanted to kill him but that wasn't right," Ruby spoke, trying to stifle tears but in her mind, she was a murderer and a tormentor. All of those times she wished for those things to happen to her White Fang and those pulling the strings, she didn't feel satisfied with that action.

"Well, Ruby, all I can say is we were angry and we were not thinking," Weiss said solemnly, trying to justify the act to both herself and Ruby.

"I see you two took your first life," Said a male voice interloping into the conversation, from behind, this spooked both Weiss and Ruby who jumped back and drew their lightsabers in defense and the man just stood there, smiling under his hood at the at the blue and red blades pointed at him.

* * *

A smile on a pallid face, and a head on the floor. A dark womanly figure smiled at the now deceased general Ironwood, who's corpse lay beheaded on the steps before her. _He was a good collaborator even if I had rework his mind to get this to work, now I just have to wait and build up my forces then once we emerge, the galaxy will be ours_. She thought as she felt her forces rallied by the dismay and chaos that had just consumed Remnant.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that is the first batch of reedited chapters. I want to make the rest of the story match this new format. I hope everyone likes the new style, Remember I would love feedback on this, so if you have the time please leave a review or send me a PM! With that said I will be updating as I go so I will upload the rewritten or new chapters once I am satisfied with them. As always, I really burned myself out on these A/Ns for now(I won't be going in-depth like I used to as it really isn't necessary, though as I said if you guys want them back I can do them again in a future update).With all that said,** ** **take care, everyone, have fun, be safe, and as always may the force be with you all!**** **.**


	6. Chapter 6: Arrival

****A/N: Ah, the old Chapter 2, Exposition city now with less talking, more fun hopefully! Rewrite info on chapter 1****

* * *

 **Chapter 6: The Arrival**

* * *

"Ah, Hello Ladies!" The man spoke with an energy and vigor not expected of someone wearing what looked like a black hooded bathrobe with a peaked hood. The girls noted, dark figure stood about six foot as he approached them. The points of the energy swords they held followed him as they snapped out a question.

"Who are you!?" the duo retaliated in shock; blades ignited humming in the gentle rain, the drops hitting the blades pulsing to steam. With their weapons drawn on the dark clad man they could, he was analyzing them, noting their burned armor and equipment. He also noted the way their hair was inversions of the other, looking at them further he noted the skin burns had already formed scar fresh scar tissue. Continuing his analysis under his hood, he noted the black and red haired girl was in a Form Seven, Juyo stance, while the white and blue haired was in a Form two, Makashi stance. Noting their stances, he noted one aspect of the black and red haired, her eyes had shifted color to the color he knew so well. They were eyes of someone who had given into the dark side.

"It is not wise for someone to raise their weapons so quickly on a stranger," The man said looking at the two girls lowering his hood one handed. Revealing his identity to be a man in his early thirties at most with dark brown hair and a deep green eye, with an eyepatch on his right eye and stubble across his face, "If I were anyone else. you two would be dead with your intestines smoldering on the ground. So please lower your weapons, I mean no harm to you two."

Ruby had a feeling like this man was telling the truth, but she did not know why she felt this way, yet she was still airing on the side of caution. Going on gut instinct she deactivated her blade and Weiss did the same with no words spoken. the man noted as they lowered their weapons the red and black haired girl's eyes changed to the silver color to which he assumed was their default. This had informed the dark lord that her fall wasn't complete, that was good.

"Okay, I am glad you two did that because I did have my lightsaber ready," the man spoke revealing his guarded lightsaber tucked against the underside of his arm and like the two girls in front of him, he slotted his saber onto his belt.

"So that's what they are called!" Ruby cheered, happy to be able to put a name to these magnificent weapons as she clicked hers back on her belt, her mind distracted by this mundane fact.

"Interesting, most people know what a lightsaber is," the man spoke, and from his point of view, this was true. Most everyone in the galaxy knew of the energy swords of the Sith and Jedi alike. With that in mind, his next question was obvious, "So ladies, where are you two from?" He asked calmly with a pleasant tone wondering where they could be from that they would not know what.

"No! You are going to answer our question first," Weiss spoke, getting annoyed at this man, not one for someone redirecting a question. Something the man realized he had done as the first question of the encounter was indeed directed at him asking for his name.

"My apologies, I am Darth Viridian Malserik, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Governor of the Hiskal region and the City of Hiskal," the Man answered eloquently with a bow and pleasant hand gesture. "Now it's your turn, ladies," he smiled as he stood back up.

"I am Weiss Schnee, former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company," Weiss spoke instinctively giving her family company title, something she only did to sound more impressive to this person, though she failed to understand Malserik's titles though under his cloak she saw his attire did indeed match someone of high rank.

Overlooking this factor, she gestured to introduce Ruby, though Ruby interrupted her "And I'm Ruby Rose, leader of a group of four called the Black Knights." Weiss glared at Ruby for interrupting her who proceeded to say, "What, I can introduce myself you know."

"I know that! you dolt, it's just this man sounds to be someone of importance and he is the first person we have met here," Weiss yelled seemingly reverting to her baser self at Ruby's feisty attitude.

"Well this just got awkward," Malserik said backing off, trying to get back on point. This little outburst told them they were still quite immature, mentally.

"I'm sorry for Ruby, Mister Malserik she can be quite feisty sometimes," Weiss said trying to be diplomatic with the man while Ruby glared at Weiss.

"No harm, no foul," Malserik smiled "I was about to stop you myself, so she could introduce herself." With this statement, Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "But one can always appreciate tact," He said to relieve Weiss's nerves.

"So, where are we?" Ruby inquired, quite curious of where they were.

"Is your world capable of space travel?" Malserik asked, redirecting the question calmly and hoping the answer was yes. Otherwise, this would get complicated, faster than the Sith would like.

"No," Weiss and Ruby responded cautiously not sure why he would ask then it dawned on her, they may not be on Remnant anymore.

"Well then, you may want to come with me to Hiskal," Malserik said dropping into a serious tone. Not because things just got difficult, he sensed the wildlife was about to get angry if they didn't get out of there soon. With two girls from another world without space travel, that would not be wise to involve them with the local fauna.

"Why? what's going on?" They both inquired simultaneously. Quietly disconnecting his lightsaber from his belt he gestured for the girls to do the same. Right now they had to be as quiet as possible as a pack of vine cats was going by.

To answer their question the man replied, quietly to the two girls with, "damn vine cats." Though this reply was too loud as the roar of the vine cats bellowed towards them. Claws tearing through the mud and muck of the swamp the trio ignited their sabers. Malserik paid close attention to the blades, _Red and Blue, interesting colors,_ He commented internally as he then ignited his own Viridian bladed lightsaber. As the storm above decided to accent the vine cat attack with a crack of lightning.

Malserik counted twelve of them, nothing new or truly dangerous for him. The girls he did not know these creatures, thus they could be a threat to them.

Ruby didn't know what to expect when she heard 'vine cat' though she certainly did not expect the giant toothy lizards that they were. Judging by the look on Weiss's face neither did she, as they came barreling out of the bushes.

The first few leaped at the trio, hoping for an easy meal. Ruby and Weiss retaliated with the concussive blast they had learned just mere minutes ago onto the foul beasts in front of them. Seeing creatures like this made the girls nervous as when the two were pushed back another leaped two in. Seeing the viridian blade whip across the necks of the creatures. The Man they had just met cut them down with ease as they stood and watched him do his work.

Though one had jumped out from the side headbutting the man into the muck of the swamps as the rain shifted into a torrential downpour. Seeing that the man had no Aura puzzled the girls but Ruby leaped into the fray, with Weiss quickly trailing. They couldn't let him die to these things.

Malserik was stunned from the attack as he cursed at himself for not realizing the threat behind him. _I rarely make error's like that,_ He screamed internally Though looking up as he wiped the muck from his eye, he saw the and felt the power of the two girls. Seeing their speed, and weird floating symbols he realized these had to be the girls the prophecy foretold. Sitting up as the flurries of red and blue did their work.

Though, he noted Ruby left her back wide open, an error that leads to the deaths of many acolytes and apprentices. Ruby had noticed this attacker one moment too late though to her surprise the vine cat erupted back with a powerful bolt of electricity. Looking back she saw their new friend standing back up. Together they finished off the vine cats.

Concerned for more wildlife interference, Malserik made the suggestion of "Come with me you two, We need to get out of the open before more show up."

"Should we, Ruby?" Weiss inquired with a whisper. Despite the situation, Weiss didn't fully trust the man.

"I feel like we can trust him Weiss" Ruby responded calmly "I feel like he has no intent to mislead us or harm us. So let's go!" Ended with a stage whisper cheer. She was unsure of how she felt this way about their new friend but something told her they could trust him. Along with, Ruby was also avoiding the fact they at this point had no other realistic option.

After deciding it was better for them to stick together and trust the stranger. They walked with the dark albeit now slightly muddy figure. Malserik was giddy with excitement as the girls followed him, He knew Imperious was going to love this.

* * *

On Tython the council was convening in their chamber. All of them concerned with the recent disturbance, something only one Jedi understood truly. All the masters of the Council were present minus one. The table bore one empty chair, even those not on Tython were present

"Where is Master Surik?" Master Gulliman inquired concerned where she could be. For one of the Jedi councilors, he had the look of a warrior, sunken eyes and clad blue robes and armor with gold accents.

"She is on her way," Grand Master Satele spoke calmly at the protesting Council member. As she said that the door to the Council chamber opened and a white and red clad Jedi entered, hood raised. This Jedi took their seat in the council circle. As she sat she lowered her hood, revealing a woman in her late twenties to early thirties, her skin pale, her eyes a gleaming silver, and her hair midnight black with crimson tips. To the council, this was Meetra Surik.

"Master Surik." Another Jedi Master one by the name of Ruus spoke to gain Surik's attention as he asked of her, "I take it you felt the disturbance."

"I did, it was like the one four months ago, though this one was on a much more pronounced scale," The white-clad master spoke, calmly and collectively. Figuring this one was probably a much larger detonation of distortion dust than last time. Probably involving hundreds of people, and large amounts of other forms of dust.

"Could you determine the systems?" Gulliman asked as he rested his hand on his knuckles as the rest of the masters looked at Surik, wanting to hear what she had to say.

"Yes, there are a lot of systems, I've documented them in a report, the three I am most concerned about are the disturbances I felt near Korriban and Dromund Kaas, along with the one here on Tython" she responded calmly. Relaxing as she opened up a hologram screen of her notes for the council. "Have we managed to find the disturbance on Tython?"

"We have, it was two corpses, a severed hand with a sword, and a blinded woman missing an arm and a leg," Satele spoke responding to Meetra's question. "One of the corpses was dispatched with a solid blade that pierced the heart the other was killed by two Lightsaber strikes through the chest and amputation of the woman's limbs was reminiscent to that of Lightsaber strikes, while her blinding seemed to be with molten metal. The severed arm was removed via a solid blade as well," Satele continued in a further briefing, describing the evidence to Surik who was puzzled by this. curious of what occurred to cause two deceased to come through, though the severed limb also had her even puzzled.

"Interesting, where is the woman and the corpses," Meetra spoke wanting to see the bodies and the potentially question the survivor. As evidence currently provided pointed towards the cause of the explosion being a battle.

"They are in the hospital wing, the bodies are in the morgue," Satele spoke calmly. She knew Surik would be prompt at securing all the information she could on what happened.

"I will file a report when I am done with my investigation into them," Meetra said with conviction. Leaving the chamber putting her hood back up and leaving the council chamber.

"Quick to work, she is," the green little master spoke from his chair after Surik had left the room.

"She is our foremost expert in these distortions. She survived the Mandalorian Wars and the attack on the Empire three hundred years ago. Only a few years ago she returned to us." Satele spoke explaining Meetra's unusual position to the other council member. Though, there was something off with the white-clad Jedi. She wasn't trusted by some on the council due to her close ties to the dark side and less social attitude.

"Walks a fine line she does," The little green master spoke, stating the truth most of the council was uneasy with Surik and her methods. Especially how she recently converted a Sith Pureblood to the Jedi.

* * *

On Dromund Kaas, Ruby and Weiss had followed Malserik to a clearing where a flying car awaited the trio. Though before they got in Malskerik asked if he could do a quick medical scan. Which they allowed as if there was anything they needed to treat they could find out. To their luck and to Malserik's relief they were in top physical condition for their age. The only thing of note and concern was the fact Ruby had a prosthetic arm. Aside from that information, the scan also gave their body measurements so he could have some new clothes made for the girls once back at Hiskal though he decided to send the data back to his home using the Holo-net. He looked again at the damaged armor they were wearing and thought to himself, _Only a few wrong moves or broken fibers away from an embarrassing malfunction._

Malserik had the girls get in the back seats while he took to the pilot seat. The layout was much like a car on Remnant. Sitting down they relaxed in the faux leather seats as the rain plinked off the roof of the airspeeder.

Once airborne, the girls saw the vastness of the swamp was immediately telling them, they were on no known part of Remnant anymore. The Storms above gave a furious light show, something Malserik had to pay attention to as if he went too high he could fry his airspeeder.

Looking around at the fauna and environment. This environment gave off a darkness that not even the most Grimm infested areas could give off and this swamp stretched for miles at least. Though with fifteen minutes of high-speed flight the terrain became rockier, which shifted into tall forested mountains with snow capped peaks. They found themselves in a very mountainous region, cruising through the mountainous region, Malserik said to the two ladies in the back "Welcome to Hiskal Ladies, and guessing by the look on your faces you realized you're not on your home world anymore."

"So we aren't on Remnant?" Ruby inquired for confirmation, not wanting to believe the situation. Though all of the things she had seen had pointed at the fact they were certainly not on Remnant anymore.

"No you are not on Remnant, I've never heard of a planet by that name," Malserik admitted, wondering where their homeworld was. Of all his time studying the galaxy maps, he had never once heard of a planet named Remnant, which was a tick for them being the ones mentioned in the prophecy as Remnant was seeming like a world that was long forgotten.

"So where the hell are we?" Weiss inquired brashly, wanting information to calm herself down. Though the information he gave did the exact opposite.

"You are in the Hiskal Region of Dromund Kaas, Dromund System, Esstran Sector," Malserik said this in a way to let it sink in the girls' minds they were very far away from home. When they realized the gravity of their situation; they began to sob. They realized they could no longer go home, They were exiled on an alien world. No amount of mental preparation could have readied them for this. Separated from everything they cared about. Malserik let them cry, as right now the situation would seem bleak to them, but he knew a new future awaited them.

Though through tear filled eyes they saw a valley in the mountains, they saw a dark and gloomy looking high-tech industrial city. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and on the top of the of one of the taller mountains in the valley was a large fortress-like structure bristling with guns, with further gun emplacements all around the pseudo-crater like valley.

"Hey ladies, you see that fortress up there?" Malserik inquired as the fortress was one of the key elements of the skyline of the city. Along with one of the few things he truly took pride in.

"Yes, what is that?" Weiss inquired as Ruby looked at it herself. Upon further study, the fortress looked more like a high tech manor until it shifted into a fortress at the sides. It was a castle on a mountain, something that reminded of Weiss of her old home.

"That is Fortress Waldstahl," Malserik said smiling, he designed the fortress himself and he was happy he could call it his home, which he then conveyed to the girls by saying, "That is my home."

"Weiss, you should feel right at home," Ruby teased, making light of the situation as she put her right arm over Weiss's shoulders. It was at this point Weiss got a true grasp for the power this man held.

"That place is bigger than White Castle, by Monty," Weiss gasped as she studied the massive fortress and that's when Malserik spoke into a microphone on the console after entering a frequency into the console.

"This is Viridian, I am back and I have two guests," He said his voice calm and crisp as the waited for a reply. His fingers tapping on the console for only a second before the reply barked through.

"Roger! My lord!" the voice on the other end barked back in an accented voice.

"I want them treated with Respect and authority, Captain, also have the fabricators tailor two garments to these specifications," Malserik added with a serious tone to his voice, as he beamed the data from the scan of Ruby and Weiss he took earlier again just to verify they had them.

"How big is your staff?" Weiss inquired, quite curious of how powerful this man truly was.

"I have a garrison of about one thousand of my own private troopers, to which I have about twenty thousand garrisoned alongside imperial regulars at key points around the city," Malserik spoke calmly revealing sensitive information to Weiss and Ruby, as he didn't deem them a threat to his security. "As for the general staff, there are about two hundred and fifty assigned to various roles, alongside numerous research and engineering staff."

These kinds of numbers made Ruby and Weiss's eyes go wide with a sense of scale. Why were so many soldiers required on this scale, Weiss thought in her head. She figured he must be doing something somebody wants to be stopped or he is in a position someone wants, and the regulars must be corruptible to the point he had to put together a private army to contend with them. Though, before anything could escape Weiss's mouth Ruby asked: "So what exactly do you do?"

This question got Malserik to smirk he always love to answer this question but he didn't have the time to answer it in full, "Well, Ruby I do a lot of things" he responded shorting Ruby's question as they entered the hangers of Waldstahl.

* * *

On Tython, Meetra decided to investigate the live one first, as a living being can answer questions. Entering the clean medical ward of the temple, Meetra spotted the hard to miss Master of healing, "Master Alik-zander," Meetra said to the hulk of a six foot four man with circular glasses,

"Ah, Master Surik" the hulking man with tan skin and blonde hair responded in his accented voice. the large scar on the left side of his face unbefitting of a healer."What can I do for you?" He continued with a pleasant smile that gave the air the man was a gentle giant.

"The woman who was recovered from the disturbance," Meetra responded calmly, she wanted to get to this woman as soon as possible, as She may know something about the disturbance. Any survivors could give her information on the status of Remnant and what had happened to cause such a massive detonation.

"Oh her, room 138, we just finished putting prosthetics on her," the towering man said calmly, with a smile as he asked politely as other healers past by, "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No that is all," Meetra smiled, "Thank you Anderon." She continued with as she walked, briskly away from the healer Jedi continuing down the clean metal halls of the temples medical ward until she saw the Aurebesh symbols for '138' which out of all the symbols of Aurebesh, they looked the most like their remnant counterpart. Entering the room she saw the woman was already fitted with prosthetic on her arm and leg, her hair was pitch black and her eyes glazed white with scarring surrounded by burned tissue. The burns looked absolutely gruesome, as her aura the scars were ragged and red and her eyelids were severely damaged. The white-clad Jedi also felt her reaching out with the force to perceive her environment like that of a Miraluka, a feeling Meetra knew all too well.

"You going to answer where I am?" she asked innocently with hints of fear in her voice. Surik could feel how nervous she was, she could guess Anderon had something to do with it. He was always a kind and gentle soul, though his appearance was quite imposing for a healer.

"You don't know?" the White-clad, Jedi said raising one of her eyebrows. She was expecting Anderon to inform her of such basic information.

"I don't really know anything about where I am, who I am, who all these people are, and why my arm and leg are metal." the woman said like a lost but innocent child, despite the fact she looked like a woman in her twenties.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention she does seem to be suffering from Amnesia," Master Alik-zander spoke in a huff as he ran to catch up to Meetra with this important detail, "She's a completely blank slate right now, minus her force knowledge and accelerated healing. When we found her. Her head seemed have hit a rock, when she fell." This fact made Meetra realize that she could be faking amnesia so to test this she put her hand on her forehead to read her. She found nothing minus instinctual things like how to speak, walk, eat, and use the force and aura, she was by definition a blank slate. This made Meetra slightly angry but she repressed it quickly, realizing this one could be trained rapidly to be a Jedi. She informed the healer that this one could be trained if her memories did not resurface. After that she went to investigate the corpses, hopefully, the dead had more information.

* * *

When Malserik landed his airspeeder in the hanger, The girls realized the scale of the facility, as the hanger bay ceiling was meters above their heads. The hanger was absolutely massive, catwalks observation decks and all of this was built inside a mountain. Then they saw the soldiers, the were as armored and armed as Atlas's finest units, though their armor was pitch black with Viridian accents. They looked well drilled and as Malserik stepped out of the airspeeder addressing him with a roaring.

"My Lord!"

Malserik replied with a calm and concise, "At ease." After saying that he gestured for Ruby and Weiss to exit the vehicle and follow him. As they got out two individuals approached, one clad in armor like the soldiers yet he bore a shoulder cape more decorations on his chest plate. While the other was dressed like a simple Butler. Both of these men stood and the soldier replied, "Welcome back lord Malserik,"

"Ah Balikor, Dornettz, I trust all is well?" Malserik said pleasantly, the tone he was using seemed genuinely friendly.

"Yes sir, we got your message," the butler replied with a smile as they looked at the two girls that were gawking at the size of the hanger and the armored soldiers. Seeing this the soldier continued with, "and welcome to Fortress Waldstahl, young ladies."

Jumping back at the sudden friendly welcome, replied in sync with jumpy, "Thank you." This reply got the three men to laugh a bit as Malserik spoke again with,

"Well, Ruby, Weiss, I think we should be on our way," Malserik said dismissing his friends who walked into a door. Seeing this, Ruby got the feeling they would defiantly be seeing more of those two.

 _First I need to get these two out of the scraps they are wearing,_ The Darth reminded himself, as he looked back at the girls scorched clothing. Leading them to the locker room just off the hanger, Malserik saw the boxes in front of the room and silently thanked Dornettz for being prompt about getting the clothes tailored. Handing the girls these boxes he opened the door to the locker room, and said, "those are new clothes please go change,"

Ruby and Weiss looked at the state of their armor and decided changing would be the best option, and went inside the room. After they were inside he went to get changed himself, as it was not proper for him to wear muddied clothing.

Once inside the girls peeled their old armor off. It was not a pleasant thing as some of the fabric fused to the burned tissue. Deciding to get the material off now they had to rip it off with force, Something that was extremely painful. It was like taking off old stuck on adhesive bandages.

After the painful ordeal, they opened the boxes that were given to them. Inside Ruby's box was a simple white tunic and pants with black leather pullover jack boots and a simple black leather belt with a slot for her lightsaber. While in Weiss's box, was a black tunic and pants with white leather pullover jack boots and a simple white leather belt with a similar slot and pouches, which the girls put their surviving scrolls in. While they were changing in private, the first thing that was noted was that their necklaces were gone, which of course upset them greatly.

Then Ruby got to examine her new prosthetic arm and its mechanics. Ruby being the machine nut and all, she was marveled at the gold and black hand with all of its guts exposed. It was at this point she realized she could tinker with it when the time came. Of course, Weiss was very off put by Ruby's new hand due to the implications it held.

Though, Weiss herself found some unusual marks on her as she looked in the mirror that was on the wall, the three scars connecting with her left eye scar, and the weird four-legged bug mark on proud display on her forehead. Weiss knew these marks, they belonged to the man who gave her the lightsaber on her belt and the amulet.

"Hey, Weiss, can I see how bad my face is?" Ruby said effectively asking Weiss to stop hogging the mirror. As unlike Weiss Ruby had to see how prominent the burns on her face were.

"Yeah, sure," Weiss said feeling the new marks on her face letting Ruby look in the mirror. Ruby saw the burn scar Cinder gave her. She was thankful it didn't look too pink or obstructive though it was still there with the rough skin of scar tissue. She ran her metal fingers on the burn to feel the texture of the sore skin with the cold metal.

"We sure got roasted," Ruby chuckled referencing the burns their bodies had endured. She was trying to make light of the situation, trying to cope with what had just happened. She didn't care for the burns but she was stuck with them, she was just glad she didn't look like some comic book villain.

"We got more than that, Ruby," Weiss said solemnly looking at Ruby's bare metal hand. As Ruby saw what she was looking at she clenched her hand in front of her face and spoke.

"Oh it's fine, I rather like it," Ruby Responded pulling away from the mirror as Weiss returned to it, realizing she probably should cover it with something. That's when she looked back at the pile of her burnt clothes and saw the gauntlet glove was perfectly intact and she slipped it on. Looking at Weiss's pile she noted a weird gold amulet with a red gem that looked like it was meant to be worn on the back of the left hand. "Hey, Weiss, What's this?" Ruby inquired holding up the amulet.

"I don't know, that man in the vision gave it to me," Weiss said calmly, still unsure who that man was and why he gave her these things.

"Well, the man in my vision gave me his arm, literally," Ruby chuckled clenching her metal hand into a fist again, listening to all the motors and servos as they flared to life with each slight movement.

"Well if you get another vision where you can talk to him, thank him for me," Weiss spoke calmly though her voice got solemn at the end. She was glad Ruby at least got some form of an arm, despite how off-putting it was. As Weiss backed away from the Mirror and decided to put the amulet on her hand fastening it to her hand and wrist along with taking the surviving dust crystals she had on her old belt and threaded the pouch on to her new belt.

Finally, after getting dressed up in these new clothes, the girls found another piece of clothing that survived the fireball, the knives with their red sheaths and belts. Weiss and Ruby decided to wear them under their 'issued' belts. With that matter sorted they began to affix their lightsabers to their belts.

It was at this point that Weiss noticed her lightsaber was symmetrical and had a switch on either end. Curious of this, Weiss ignited the blade on one end of the saber, then pressed the button on the opposite end. She was shocked when a second blue blade of equal length to the first ignited from the other end. As Weiss was holding with the lightsaber nervously trying to maneuver it without damaging anything. Ruby marveled at the double-bladed design quickly examining her saber if there was anything she had missed. Ruby ignited her crimson bladed saber and found a control by the black emitter guard, activating the control the single blade in her hand jumped from one meter in length to two meters.

* * *

On the outside of the changing room, Malserik, who had just changed himself, had gotten concerned when he heard the ignition sounds of lightsabers. Fearing a trap, or some other violence, he barged in the room. His lightsaber in hand, ignited in its fierce viridian, only to see the two girls examining their weapons. That's when he noticed the strange lightsaber Weiss had, a blue double-bladed short handled lightsaber with four prongs on either end is emitter guard and to red ignition buttons. Malserik knew immediately who used to own that Lightsaber. This shocked him as that lightsaber was reportedly lost to time according to the records he had.

"Ladies, I hope you know those aren't toys" Malserik spoke sternly and loudly, disengaging his Lightsaber, as both girls jumped and quickly deactivated their lightsabers. "Interesting weapons, aren't they?" Malserik added as he clicked his back onto the back of his belt. The girls nodded as they affixed them back to their belts, "Well. Now we must talk so follow me please."

Clad in the garments given to them, they followed Viridian, who had changed into an outfit consisting of; a tunic of black leather armor with three pleats of leather on the front, with a dark bluish gray robe like layer that extended down to his knees like an overcoat. Underneath with what seemed like an emerald green turtleneck, which reminded the girls of Ozpin. His pants were officer style breeches with knee high pull over black jack boots. He had a black utility belt on with his lightsaber with the half circle guard on the back of his belt with other various pouches. He had gloves on both hands with leather bracers with what looked like some form of technology embedded into the leather. This new outfit made him look like a huntsman officer. As they followed him through the fortress, Malserik asked, "I hope those clothes are comfortable?"

"They are comfortable, but they really aren't our colors" Ruby replied not liking the white tunic she was given's color. Weiss was comfortable with the color of hers, but she felt how uncomfortable Ruby was without a cloak on, looking at Ruby, Weiss saw how different she looked without it. Even the simplicity of the outfit screamed against Ruby's style. Though seeing Ruby dressed like this did make Ruby look less threatening and more professional, something the man who gave them the outfits seemed to value.

"You wouldn't happen to have any cloaks?" Weiss asked calmly, knowing Ruby wasn't going to ask herself. Ruby looked at her with a look of thanks and gratitude.

"I'm afraid I don't have anything like that minus my robe's cloak, which is caked with mud," Malserik said as they continued walking till they reached a fancier more living area location in the depths of the fortress. They followed him down a few more corridors when they found a door that Ruby had seen before. This is when it hit her, this hall was the hall she saw going to Ozpins office just before the attack on Amity. As they approached the door was automatic and it opened, revealing a massive study-like room with a large curved panoramic view window that oversaw the whole city.

The desk was massive and the chair was very interesting looking though in the behind the desk. The room looked like the office of a man bent on conquering the world, or someone liked watching over his domain. Off to the right of the desk, a table for three was set with food and drink. The food smelled good and the dishes looked well prepared for guests.

"Please have a seat we have a lot to talk about," Malserik said expecting them to be there for a few hours, as there was indeed quite a lot to talk about.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was the new chapter 6, I added a battle to it so Malserik could see, and not go off their words. Aside from that I really hope people are liking the rewrite, the lack of feedback is worrying. If you guys don't like it tell me, please. Also, I have decided that the old chapters are not going to stay past the new chapter 8, so once the new chapter 8 is up they will go down, Also I will be updating the story once I am happy with the new chapter, and with the way this is going it will be frequent. Please feel free to leave your criticisms in a review or pm and everyone have fun, stay safe and may the force be with you!**


	7. Chapter 7: An Explanation

**A/N Okay, well I am no longer going to call this project a Rewrite, as it is more of a re-edit and recutting along with rewriting, I am just generally going to call it a rework now. With that out of the way Chapter 7.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: An Explanation**

* * *

Walking into the morgue of the Jedi Temple, Surik saw one of the coroner and surgeon of the Jedi, Doctor Kefh Socras, A male Mirialan Jedi. By his stance, he was standing waiting for Surik to walk in the door. wearing a white lab coat over his robes, he was clean cut and proper in his appearance. Unlike most Jedi healers, he was a true Doctor who was permitted to get a medical license and train in various methods of surgery

"Master Surik, Welcome, I have the effects of the deceased over here, and the corpses over here," The kind-hearted Mirialan spoke, gesturing to the three containers on the right, and the body bags and a small container on the tables to the left. Surik started to walk on the sterile tile towards the bodies as she asked,

"Could you determine the Identities of the corpse," Surik asked firmly, though what she heard next her tore her soul into shreds.

"The Human male, from what I can gather is named Qrow Branwen." The doctor replied calmly. Surik's next action took him entirely by surprise. She lunged forward unzipping the bag, she stood hovering over the corpse's face in pure shock and horror. before slumping down helplessly. The sterile tile was cold as tears started to flow from Surik's face. Kefh had looked at the Jedi and realized this must have been a very close friend.

"Why him? Why did it have to be him?" Surik muttered in despair. _The one I trusted with everything I did, and everything I knew. Is gone,_ Surik said in her mind as she tried to compose herself. Controlling her emotions, she got back on her feet and asked: "Who is the other corpse?"

"From what I can gather he is a 'Faunus' Male named Adam Taurus," Surik breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't Ozpin or Taiyang like her mind just expected. The term Faunus still was new to the Jedi, even though Surik published multiple reports where she explained what they were, only recently was the term being circulated. She had no interest in looking at this corpse. Continuing to the arm she inquired with,

"So what of the arm?" She asked as the final tears fell from her face as she took advantage of her training to calm herself. It took all of her willpower to not just break down.

"From what I can gather, the arm and sword belong to sixteen year old human female," The coroner answered calmly, hoping what he said next didn't further harm Surik, "From what I found from the information on his 'Scroll' device, " The Doctor paused, hoping the name he said meant nothing to Surik, though to his disappointment it did as he said. "The owner of the arm is a Ruby Rose."

Surik held her tears back as best she could, though they flowed down her face anyway. with this, she asked to have the sword, which of course the coroner gave her. She also took Qrow's scroll as well she walked right out of the morgue with the blade on her belt. Muttering, "why?" with each step as she said In her mind, _She has to know, they have to know, Ruby is here, they are all here._

* * *

Over the next hour, Malserik explained the where the girls were, and the technology of the galaxy, while they asked multitudes of questions. Ruby munched on the cookies on the table which were made with weird ingredients but still edible. Same could be said about the finely prepared meals and tea that was provided. Whilst they were eating their first alien meal, Malserik told them about the war and the Jedi and the Republic. which he described with the expected bias, and then he told them about the empire and its truths slavery and cruelty and all. The idea of this empire disgusted Ruby and Weiss to even make them ask a question of Malserik.

"How can you support an empire so obsessed with personal power, murder, and tyranny!?" Ruby asked in an accusatory way. The way she asked this told Malserik she could at least discern this was wrong and needed to change. Something he completely he could relate to the young girl on. As would Imperious and all the other Sith he was working with. They all wanted to change in the Empire.

"Well, Ruby I never said I support them fully," Which was true, he never said he supported the Sith or the Empire fully "I personally believe, over time the Empire can change to see the error of its current ways. I personally detest oppression, slavery and the selfishness of my counterparts, but to me, I would rather be here than a Jedi to the Republic again," Malserik continued, his voice harsh and unwavering.

"What's so bad about the Jedi?" Weiss inquired, as the man went into very little detail about the Jedi minus his absolute hatred of them. Ruby had heard the term once before in passing when she was a child, but she never knew who or what a 'Jedi' was.

"Think back can you remember when you were two to three years old?" Malserik asked of the girls, while as he said this his troubled memories flowed forth in his mind.

"Yes vaguely, why?" Weiss asked, inquiring where he was going with it. As she didn't want to go too much into her family affairs, considering how she left them.

"Can you remember how much your parents loved you?" Malserik said with a slight tinge of pain in his mind. As the faint memories recalled themselves in force. His mind focused on that day, that one damned day.

"Yes," they both said at the same time, which unnerved the Sith. Though Weiss said this with less enthusiasm because shortly after that point in time is when her father started to crack down on her.

"Imagine being ripped away from them at that tender age by some man, just because you could perceive something most people can't." The girls eyes went wide as Malserik began his rant, "then imagine you are raised in an environment the tries to wipe you into a selfless husk, that bends over to the Republic Senate who's word is the 'greater good,' then come around one day, when you're eighteen and you want to see your parents again, only to find out they are dead. As they tried to stop the Jedi, who under Republic law are allowed to take you from your parents," Malserik huffed after getting riled up in his story to the girls and their eyes were wide as dinner plates, "As a Jedi, your natural emotions and attachments are your greatest enemy, you cannot love, you cannot get angry, you can only serve the republic even though the senate is wrong, or imagine not being able to protect the republic because the council orders you not to interfere. Both scenarios have happened."

"How do you know that's how the Jedi are?" Ruby asked stepping on the landmine, her naivety coming through again, as Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose with this as she understood the implications Malserik was giving he was trying not to imply this was his story but Weiss could tell by the way he talked, this was the case.

"I used to be one," Malserik explained, his voice low and upset, "I know how they are by experience, and that story was mine." This statement took Ruby by surprise as she though he was just going over stories, he had heard but she felt what she was hearing was legitimate. Malserik sensing Ruby's innate ability to discern intent, asked a difficult question "Ruby, how would you feel if you were barred from seeing Weiss ever again, likewise to you Weiss?"

This question tugged at Ruby's heart. Though, Weiss was the first to answer with "I couldn't feel, I would be torn apart by it." This actually put Weiss in a slump of a mood.

that's when Ruby Responded with a response that amused Malserik, "Nothing will separate Weiss and I. I would stop them from doing it, I would not let them lay a finger on Weiss! I love Weiss and I would eliminate any obstacle if it meant her and I could be together!" This long winded statement made Malserik smirk noting Ruby's eyes change color to the Sithly yellow, as he noted, _she doesn't have much longer to go till that is permanent._

that's when Weiss spoke up again this time with more vocal fury, something that pleased Malserik. "And never will Ruby have to fear that, cause if I know she is fighting towards me I will fight towards her!" Weiss declared as faded red field outlined both of their bodies, Malserik noted the field as he had never seen anything like it.

"Right there, you two proved you could never be part of the Jedi order as it stands now, Love is forbidden to them now, they have to keep it a secret," Malserik said dropping this weight on them. It was something new the Jedi were doing to prevent more from falling to the dark side in a spectacular way, when they found out something had happened to their families.

"That's horrible," they both said in unison, it was at this point Ruby's eyes returned back to silver. It was at this point the seeds of bias were planted.

"I know it is," Malserik said in agreement, though he wanted to change topics to something much more interesting. With this in mind, he asked the girls, "do you know what the force is?"

"No, minus from what you said about the Jedi and the Sith" Weiss responded though she quickly added something Malserk found quite interesting, "and something Ruby's family likes to reference with the phrase, 'May the Force be with you'."

"Well judging by your power, I wouldn't be surprised if your parents were force sensitive or even Jedi or Sith" Malserik admitted at Ruby realized her mother was the one that referenced the force so much. Piecing the puzzle together, her mother was a Jedi.

"My mom" Ruby Muttered as it dawned on her. Her mother was a Jedi. The silver sabers, her odd abilities according to Qrow and her dad, it all made sense to the young girl. Malserik and Weiss heard what she had said, and Malserik jumped to ask a question that could discern her lineage.

"And what was your mother's name?" Malserik asked quite curious, he knew most of the Jedi, and if she was a Sith, that would make it even easier for him to find out who she was.

"Summer Rose," Ruby replied her voice low as she realized her mother was not who she said she was. Though Malserik was even more stumped by this name, he never heard of a Jedi from his time in the temple that had a name like that. He was utterly puzzled, trying to link Ruby's appearance to any Jedi he knew, but he knew none minus one that was impossible, as they were long dead.

"I am afraid Ruby, I don't know a Jedi by that name," Malserik explained calmly, he was honestly out of ideas who her mother could be. After that, Malserik told them about the force, how it works to known knowledge, the two sides of it, and its abilities and powers. he managed this feat in a nice thirty minutes, though mainly because he had touched on the basics of it. Then after the explanation, he said, "Ruby you know how you've been getting feelings about people like you can guess their intent or discern what they are feeling, you probably have been your entire life, and you can tell when someone isn't who they say they are?"

"Yes, why?" Ruby asked in counter, she never really thought it was strange, just gut feelings she got about people. Now she was learning there might have been a reason behind it.

"Well there is something interesting about you and Weiss, you two are extremely strong in the force," Malserik said with his signature smirk. He was enjoying this conversation.

"So wait, you're saying Ruby and I have hidden abilities related to this 'force'?" Weiss inquired, still skeptical of the whole premise of the force. Malserik wanted to facepalm at that moment as they had used it before, albeit in the most basic way, but they had still used it.

"That is exactly correct, you two have already demonstrated enough promise with it. I suspect that is why Exar Kun took interest in you, Weiss." Malserik said dropping his name on Weiss, who then proved to the man, her planet must have been under a rock in the unexplored regions of space.

"Exar Kun?" Weiss asked not knowing the name.

"The marks on your face, your lightsaber, and your amulet, all things of Exar Kun, a Jedi who was corrupted by the dark side and led an army against the republic," Malserik explained as he knew Kun's story, his voice also gave hints that it was a story he enjoyed.

"Interesting, who's the man Ruby saw in her vision," Weiss inquired about who Ruby's vision detailed.

"I don't know let's find out," Malserik suggested, he knew a technique to read another memory though his talent with the ability was limited as the other party had to let him into their mind. "With your approval, of course, Ruby."

"Sure, I'm curious" Ruby smiled as Malserik put his hand to her forehead and began to read.

* * *

With that Malserik and Ruby entered a trance-like state. Malserik found himself at the gates of Ruby's mind, he was not too invasive instead only observing, Ruby taking control of the plain of her mind recalled her vision. He saw how Ruby got her arm and the dark lord, to him he looked like a more armored up Malgus, but he was no Sith lord that he knew. but his mind kept saying one word when looking at him,"Vader," as this character chilled his soul something that would normally not happen to a veteran Sith, but there was something off about 'Vader'. There was one thing that puzzled him, the way this man christened her a Darth.

That thought was soon dropped when behind Vader he saw another figure, one Ruby did not see. he saw someone he knew the legends of, but never would have figured any relation to this girl to him, but there was no mistaking that red mask, that was Revan. Pulling out of the trance Malserik was confused what was Revan doing there.

* * *

"So who was it?" Weiss asked concerned, as Ruby didn't recover at the same time as Malserik who now had a headache. As even when someone was allowing a Jedi or Sith into their mind with the force it was still an exhausting task for said Jedi or Sith. Only a few rare Jedi or Sith could truly use that ability practically.

"Someone by the name of Vader," Malserik explained with a pained grunt in his voice, not letting them know about Revan yet, as that man confused even him. Just thinking about him worsened his headache by considerable margins.

"So what does that mean?" Weiss spoke, asking a second logical question as she watched Ruby, her concern growing as she hadn't returned to consciousness yet.

"I think he is a person of great significance from the future," Malserik responded calmly, just guessing at the Vader character. _If Ruby had attracted a Sith like that,_ he had to ask himself, w _hat kind of potential does this girl have?_

"How do you know that?" Weiss inquired, curious of how ridiculous this situation could get.

"Just a feeling I have, I really don't know he could be" Malserik replied grimly, his inference only due to the prophecy, another thing he wasn't going to tell the girls of, yet. Still asking that question to himself, he realized Ruby was beginning to stir as her eyes opened.

"Well, did we figure out who he was?" Ruby asked, her voice groggy as she looked at Malserik, just pulling out of her trance. Unlike Malserik, her head was fine, and with a quick shake of the head, the groggy feeling was gone.

"Not really just a name," Malserik responded to Ruby's question promptly, "Vader"

"Hmm, I don't know that name. But hey we tried," Ruby said with a slight shrug as Malserk pinched a pressure point in the web of his left hand to deal with the headache. Though that did not prevent him from conversing.

"Also he called you a Darth, Ruby, any reason why?" Malserik asked of Ruby, knowing fully that they most likely didn't know.

"I was curious about that myself, what is a Darth?" Ruby inquired about this title she was assigned in the vision.

"Likewise, this Exar person also gave me a title like that to me," Weiss added in remembering her vision.

"A Darth is a Sith recognized to be powerful and cunning. They usually have to earn that title by killing a Darth or the Dark Council assigning it to a known powerful Sith," Malserik explained to the girls. Continuing with "As you know I am a Darth-,"

"So does that mean our titles don't count?" Weiss asked calmly, out of general curiosity, interrupting the Darth's train of thought.

"Yes, for now, they will not count," Malserik stated bluntly, his voice mildly pained from the headache, "but I am curious, what was the name Kun gave you, Weiss?"

"He called me Darth Glatteis," Weiss answered calmly, as she leaned back in her chair, "What was the title Ruby got?"

"Darth Fleurnoire" Ruby said calmly as she thought about the name, she liked how it sounded fancy and how smooth it sounded. "What is your Darth title Malserik?" Ruby asked cheerfully curious.

"I am just known as Darth Malserik, I never really thought of a name for myself." Malserik chuckled with the slightly embarrassed smile, some Sith just used their surnames, others were given their names, while some, a rare few indeed, could choose their name. Thinking of a way to avoid more embarrassing things Malserik said, "Well, I think now that you know about my galaxy maybe you could fill me in on your homeworld."

Looking at each other, Ruby and Weiss began the tedious task of explaining Remnant to Malserik from their knowledge. He was shocked by the Grimm, a form of life lacking any and all form of control, just wild killing machines. Taking out their scroll's, a device that interested Malserik itself, they showed him images of these creatures. He immediately suspected they were entities of the Darkside, but he did not say a word on this. Though he smiled when he heard these girls were training to kill these creatures.

Then they told him of the huntsmen and huntresses and how they fought the Grimm, then they got on to Aura and Semblance, which they demonstrated theirs for Malserik who was very impressed with the speed and glyphs the girls demonstrated. Though the bantha in the room for the dark lord was how these abilities seem to not rely on the force. The Glyphs and Speed abilities these girls possessed seemed very powerful none the less, albeit the flower petals the speed gave off did seem kind of annoying as he had to swat them away when the got near his face. After that, they explained the merged aura they shared and the effects it has, including the fact these two girls cannot be separated. A fact Malserik connected to the Holocron prophecy.

After that, Malserik got to learn why Weiss seemed a little on the wealthy side of the attitude spectrum. Weiss Explained dust and even showed him as a sample, which he asked if he could keep for chemical analysis, Weiss allowed this as she had nothing to use her dust in anymore. Malserik looked at the structure of the glowing crystals, they were impressive, though he doubted they could be used as focusing crystals.

Then lastly Ruby and Weiss told Malserik about their dreams and the incident. To which he concluded that was the Force's involvement. Though they ended with explaining their lives and why they wanted to join the ranks of Huntresses. He found it Interesting to see how the girls thought of their world and their mindset; Ruby wanting to be like the heroes in the fairy tales, originally until she wanted vengeance for the death of her friends and sister, something he could relate to. Weiss wanting something other than military service to Atlas and to defy her father. A dream she seemingly achieved from what she told Malserik. _Vengeance and defiance two very easy ways to slip to the Darkside,_ Malserik thought to himself.

Then they went into what just happened before their arrival. They were being brutally truthful about what had occurred at Amity. They told him of the White Fang, The Black knights, everything. It was at this point Malserik realized there were two more girls that were somewhere in the galaxy, along with so many more of their people. It explained why the disturbance was so massive. The remainder of the conversation on Amity was somber as they explained how they got lost in rage. Malserik knew this to be only natural for someone giving in to the darkside for the first time. Insane killing sprees were to be expected. Though the fact they dueled an experienced force user with two lightsabers shocked him, with that information he made the inference two-way travel between Remnant and Drommund Kaas or the galaxy at large was most likely a thing.

Though, before he could continue, the conversation was interrupted by a man dressed in black armor who announced, "My Lord, I know you requested to not be disturbed," he said calmly hoping that he didn't aggravate his master," but Darth Imperious is on the line, She says it's urgent,"this further explanation put a light smirk on his face as he stood up.

"Thank you, Sergeant," Malserik said standing up to stretch his legs, "Ladies, I will be back in a bit, so please excuse me." He said as he walked toward the door, and the Sergeant returned to his post outside the door. Malserik was grinning though not for the reasons one might think, Imperious, his friend and contact on the Dark Council. Darth Imperious, the protector of the secrets of the Sith. She held the Sphere of ancient knowledge a title that should not be taken lightly. Approaching the communications room he dismissed all personnel from the room then activated the holo-com terminal and secured the line on his end.

"Darth Imperious," Malserik said to the projected hooded figure as he stood in front of the projector in an 'at ease' stance with his arms behind his back. "is this line secure?" was the next thing he asked, as the topic of the girls was of utmost secrecy.

"It is Viridian," Malserik smiled hearing her accented female voice on the other end, her referring to him as Viridian was the code to say the line is secure and the rooms are secure. "I'm assuming you felt that disturbance?" She continued with as she knew one of the largest ones was on Drommund Kaas.

"That I did," Malserik replied, as a sly smirk formed on his lips, revealing his white teeth, Picking the small spherical Holocron out of his pocket he continued, "Remember that prophecy this thing told us about?"

"They're here?!" the hooded hologram responded with amazement and a smile beneath her hood. If they were here, that meant her plans could be set into motion at long last.

"That they are," Malserik replied with a smirk. He was happy his friend was happy with this news.

"Have you convinced them to join us?" Imperious inquired hoping Malserik did already.

"No, they just arrived, and are a bit shaken up but give them time," Malserik responded with a cool tone. He could tell Imperious was happy and giddy by the large grin her hooded face bore.

"Alright then Viridian, I'll keep the Dark Council off your back," She said calmly knowing the Dark Council knew nothing of the girls and would kill them if they were deemed a threat to the Empire, which she knew they would.

"Also, be on the lookout for more people like them, there may be two more," Malserik explained calmly, this made his counterpart in Kaas city gasp.

"you think there are more?" She inquired, the shocked tone unbefitting of her cloaked presence. Malserik gave a look of 'Would I lie about something like this?' This got her understanding causing her to say, "I will monitor the Imperial Intelligence reports for anything of use, I will not keep you any longer."

"Thank you, Ceres." He smiled Terminating the line and beginning to walk out of the comm room with one thought in mind, _ _by the force I love her__ _. He smiled though his affections for her were long since dashed due to a condition he had. One he kept hidden so well all that found out about it, had a tendency to disappear._

* * *

Imperious sat in the giant chamber that was her office, resting her arms on her desk while resting her head on interlaced fingers. She couldn't help but laugh a bit, as they were here. Finally, her plans could start to be set up. She reclined back into her chair, she had a lot of work to do in the coming months, not to mention monitoring the Imperial Intelligence reports and other official documentation.

She stood up still smiling, the dark council was going crazy trying to figure out what had just occurred hours earlier. She knew the girls were safe with Malserik, he was a man so paranoid he hired his own guards and soldiers, something the Empire did not approve of, but his removal from Hiskal would slam the economy into a downward spiral, something the empire knew very well. Along with his outright destruction of anyone who tried to oust him, he kept the people happy and satisfied to ensure insurrection if he was removed.

* * *

 **A/N well, that was Chapter 7, I really didn't change that much, minus adding the morgue scene and a few more lines of Dialog, I didn't want to overburden the chapter with fully going through some of the conversations they had as they would last long period of time and I don't want this to be a 10 k long dialog chapter. So short and sweet it is. As I said at the top I am changing the term I am using to describe the rewrite to rework as it fits what I am doing much better. Alright! Everyone have fun, stay safe and m** **ay the force be with you!**


	8. Chapter 8: A Proposal

**A/N Ah chapter 8 the ending of the original Chapter 2, I added a bit more and changed a few things so have at thee, Chapter 8 A Proposal!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: A Proposal**

* * *

Back on Tython, Master Surik's ability to control her emotions any further was lost. This was due to one of the two corpses that were recovered, it was a friend she trusted dearly. Though, her heart ached even further as she held the sword of someone even more on her belt.

Walking through the temple she felt somberly isolated once again, thinking, __am I cursed to lose everyone I care about? first I lose Atton, Bao Dur, Mira, and Visas. then I'm tossed on to Remnant where I make some new friends. then I can't contact my friends on Remnant when I get brought back here then I lose Revan, by the force Revan. but get to go back to Remnant have a family, a family no one could harm, only to get stripped away again. now my friends and family from Remnant are coming here, this is awful. I have to let her know, she deserves to know.__ Meetra concluded as she walked towards the training yards, Qrow's scroll in hand still open to the message from Ozpin briefing him on the situation at the Vytal festival. Her worst fear confirmed all of her friends and family including the most precious thing she held dear, Ruby, her daughter was in this galaxy and she was injured. Though, there was nothing she could do. They were now cast like dice into this galaxy at war. This was not a fact Surik was taking well.

Her legs wanted to give out and allow her to collapse to the floor. Though she realized she needed to steel herself. Tears streaming down her face as she continued, her hand loosely trying to grip the wall to support herself. Steeling herself, she managed to continue on.

* * *

Back in Malserik's study, Ruby and Weiss were discussing the situation at hand, while taking in the sight of the city of Hiskal at night as the snow fell. The view through the panoramic window was amazing to say the very least. Showing the skyline of the secluded city, the lights from the streets gleaming upward Even from this distance they saw people in the streets celebrating something. They were partying in the streets something that seemed quite odd considering how Malserik told them how disgusting this empire was.

"I wonder what they are celebrating," Weiss asked seeing the celebration. The people down below looked truly happy, rejoicing in the streets as the snow fell on them. They looked like laborers and factory workers. Though to Weiss, some looked like Miners, a look she knew well from some of her former families facilities.

"No idea, but they look happy down there," Ruby said with a bit of cheer in her voice, she still looked weird to Weiss without her cloak on. But they were happy to see that this empire wasn't darkness twenty-four seven.

"That they do," Weiss responded as she looked down on the crowd. She was really curious what had got them in the street like this. From above, it reminded the girls of a new years party in Downtown Vale.

"So what do you think of our situation, Weiss?" Ruby asked crossing her arms as she looked out the window at the falling snow and her own reflection in the glass.

"Interesting to say the best," Weiss spoke, as she crossed her arms while Ruby unclipped her saber from her belt and started to fidget with it, as Weiss replied with, "horrifying at the worst," Weiss admitted if this all went wrong this situation would be properly scary.

"Well, what do you think of this force stuff?" Ruby said with a bit of a shrug. The unignited saber hilt still in her gauntleted hand.

"If what Malserik said is true, then these abilities cannot be ignored," Weiss spoke calmly to Ruby, reasoning that these new abilities were very important," We need to master them."

"Maybe Malserik could teach us how to use them?" Ruby suggested calmly as she trusted the man so far, he had done nothing to hurt them, and only seemed to want to help them.

"Yes, though I don't feel comfortable working for this 'Empire'," Weiss said clearly, not liking the idea of a tyrannical empire being her masters.

"Neither do I but what choice do we have?" Ruby sighed, as her long repressed optimism shined through once again when she continued, "Besides, we could make the Empire a better place, Weiss, and Malserik doesn't seem like the kind of man who could go around terrorizing people."

"Well, you think we could?" Weiss paused to think for a moment. "Change this place?"

"Yes, I think we could," Ruby smiled in her optimism, Something Weiss had not seen since before the incident, "and we can give hope and help to the people of this empire, we could be its heroes."

"So, you think he will take us under his wing?" Weiss asked Ruby to see what she thought. Ruby took a second before replying.

"I may be wrong, but I think that may have been what he was going for," Ruby spoke looking back out the window. She was hoping she wasn't wrong about her prediction, "Why else would he tell us all he has already."

"I guess your right, I thought he was just being nice," Weiss admitted with her eyes wide still amazed at how Ruby managed to perceive this from the conversation.

"Normal people don't tell us things like the Jedi murdered their family," Ruby said her nerves a bit on edge with the idea, but she felt like her trust wasn't misplaced considering the things she had been told by Malserik.

The door slid open and Malserik returned to the room with a smile on his face. Noting the girls were standing looking out the window. "Enjoying the view?" He asked, walking up to the Duo.

"Yeah it's an interesting city," Weiss replied as she looked back down at the streets, as the crowd hung up banners and various decorations, showing this was not a planned event, "why are they celebrating?"

"They are celebrating because of the massive bonus everyone received for increasing the cities gross production level by twenty-five percent," Malserik said with a smile that showed how proud he was running this city, "due to the surplus accumulated by the production increase, I ordered fifty percent of the excess profit to be divided equally between the populous of the city, even the slaves got a cut as per my order. The total for each citizen was five-hundred credits, it isn't that much but it's enough"

"Well, that's kind of you," Weiss said calmly she smiled as this, the people seemed to be enjoying themselves. She could never imagine her father doing such a thing, and Malserik said this like it wasn't the first time he had done this.

"We are a city built on heavy industry, but this city in many opinions is one of the nicest cities to live in, in this empire," Malserik said proudly as he looked out over his domain. Watching the populous merrily going about in the streets.

"Really?" Weiss said slightly in disbelief. Normally industrial cities were less than stellar places to live on Remnant, especially if it was a Schnee mining town.

"We are number one in a lot of areas, making this a very desirable place to live." Malserik explained calmly, not looking away from the view "and that's because I'm not a self-indulging tyrant, and if you do your part here you have nothing to fear from me, and if young idiot apprentices waltz right into my city and terrorize my people, I have been known to deal with them accordingly."

"So you're the peacekeeper?" Weiss asked though she was concerned with the way he said he 'deals with the 'Idiot' apprentices accordingly.'

"Yes, you could say that, though most call me a necessary evil, as I don't conform to the ways of the Empire but you remove me from this city, it will fall apart. I run this city on respect, not fear, unlike my counterparts, who do the opposite. You earn my respect, you have nothing to fear," Malserik smiled, giving out one of his views that many Sith would say is wrong to a Nth.

"Well Malserik you have earned Weiss and I's respect," Ruby said in a way that surprised Malserik, it was truthful.

"He has earned our respect Ruby, you Dolt," Weiss spoke correcting her rosy friend's flawed sentence. Despite how intelligent Ruby was, she still had some work to go with speech.

"Well I'm surprised, considering the way you looked at me when I told you about the Empire that I'm a part of," Malserik replied shocked as he predicted he would have to convince these girls to stay, though these words felt soft and gentle, their meaning true, he did have their respect.

"You are not like them, Malserik and I can see that," Ruby smiled, taking the feeling's she was getting from him seriously, Malserik smiled lightly as those words meant a lot to him.

"Yes, I have to agree with Ruby here, you don't match how you described them," Weiss said calmly, trusting in Ruby's judgment.

"Well that's good to hear," Malserik spoke with some joy in his voice, "makes my next question a bit easier."

"May I - I mean, we ask a question first?" Ruby said with her nerves causing her to stumble verbally as Malserik turned to face them and give his reply.

"Sure? go ahead," Malserik responded, unsure what type of question they were going to ask that would make them this nervous.

"Well you said this force thing requires a lot of skill to control and use," Weiss spoke, her voice also nervous but more in control than Ruby's voice.

"I did say that," Malserik said bluntly, as he did say that. He tapped his foot as he looked down at the girls, quite curious what they were trying to say.

"Um, well we were wondering..." Ruby paused, she and Weiss continued in a creepy, extended synchronization. "Could you train us how to use it?"

"One does not simply train to use the force." Malserik said almost deflating the girls, though he continued with, "most would say you have to dedicate your lives to apply it effectively. Normally you two would be assigned as an apprentice to a master in the Academy on Korriban. that's if you survive long enough to get a master." Malserik added with a smirk, he was toying with them, while trying to make them understand how lucky they were going to be."But, I know the fire that burns in your hearts, so I hereby offer you two a place as my apprentices." Malserik proclaimed, proudly announcing this.

Ruby and Weiss smirked and looked at each other for a few seconds then returned their view to Malserik. "We accept your offer," they answered in unison. With that Malserik smiled, he had his first apprentices.

"Well, then we have a lot of work to do to get you two trained. So let's get you accommodated here, your training will begin tomorrow," Malserik said with a smile, as after he got them settled in he had to contact Imperious as things progressed quite quickly.

"Also what was your question?" Weiss inquired, out of curiosity, as he did not seem interested in asking it now.

"You two just answered it," Malserik smiled, proving he had planned to take them on as his apprentices. With this Malserik continued, still smiling, "Come on I will show you to your rooms." Malserik said pleasantly

* * *

Walking over to the windows overlooking the sparring grounds Meetra saw the flurries of blades of padawans practicing their velocities through tear filled eyes. Blue and green blades clashing and whirring through the air as masters walked between the controlled sparring, analyzing the form and posture of the padawans. This intense training was to get more Jedi ready for a war that was inevitable, as long as the Sith existed. Meetra had spotted her two Padawans sparring away two purple blades against a yellow saber staff. Their velocity was full paced blade contact. Walking slowly down the stairs to the room she heard the buzzing and humming of the blades as one young padawan misplaced his foot falling blade first towards the white-clad Jedi master.

Instinctively, Meetra grabbed one of her two lightsabers and parried the falling padawan's blue lightsaber away with the silver blade of energy. After the moment passed, Meetra disengaged her weapon and mounted it back on her belt as the padawan began apologizing profusely, Meetra said,

"It's okay young one, no harm, no foul," She smiled with a feigned smile as the padawan got back on his feet. Meetra continued on before he could see her face which she pulled her hood further down to cover her puffy eyes from view. The song of sabers clashing, their crackles and sparks filling the room with noise. Though after passing a few other practicing padawans, she saw her padawan dueling, the one with the purple blades had blonde hair that was chopped in one fell swoop at the back of her neck, and wore a revealing brown robe that kept her cool and allowed for maximum freedom of movement, along with her signature yellow bracelets that contained a dastardly secret. this young woman was her padawan.

The one with the yellow saber staff wore a similar robe but less revealing and hers was black and white with some accents of purple, her black hair was tied into a ponytail at the back, while two prominent feline ears topped her head, She was taken under Satele Shan's wing to become a Jedi Shadow. Though, one trait was shared between them, the braid of hair on the right side of their head.

"Padawans we need to talk," Meetra addressed them on her approach. With lilac and yellow eyes on her, she continued with, "In private." With that word spoken and seeing the master's face they both deactivated their blades and walked to her quarters together.

* * *

Elsewhere in the galaxy in the tombs of Korriban, three Sith acolytes journeyed to the tombs after the massive disturbance in the force subsided. training blades at the ready as they entered the tomb of Marka Ragnos, knowing the perils their masters put them through they stood ready to face any foe. The tomb seemed relatively clear as they went through the depths the ancient Sith carvings on the wall mystified the young acolytes.

Though, as they proceeded they saw a strange sight, a girl dressed in black, kneeling in meditation. Her hair as red as the Imperial banner. They looked around in the chamber and saw the bodies of three other acolytes. Any supplies they carried were scraped off their bodies and organized at the base of a ruined statue nearby. The bodies of the acolytes were arranged in a way that seemed to be at least showing respect for the dead. They also smelled cooking flesh looking over they found a fire started with k'lor'slug meat on it. In front of her rested a two-pronged staff made of a black metal with wrappings and gold accents along it away from the jagged prongs on the other end, it terminated in a sword like hilt.

"Who are you, identify yourself!?" one of the acolytes yelled at the meditating girl. She did not respond, most likely deep in thought or pondering. After a few second that felt like hours to the acolytes, the girl spoke, but not to them, "Yes, I know they are there," She said coldly to a voice they did not hear. standing up she faced the three acolytes her skin already showing the pallor of the dark side, her eyes blaring the thick sulfuric yellow that was known of the dark side.

Frightened, the acolytes charged her only to be cut down by quick lightsaber strikes. The first had his chest sliced open, the second had his gut impaled whilst being disarmed, the third managed to try and parry her but it was a feint to open his defense to her red lightsaber, which found itself in the last acolyte's forehead. As the silence fell in the chamber the girl relaxed disengaging her lightsaber. To the girl's ears, there was a thundering applaud as she looked out seeing the spirits of those long dead. Tapping the bottom of the scepter on the ground the girl focused residual energy from the six corpses. After doing that a ghostly specter that most would call a demon approached the girl, claiming she was doing well. Smiling the girl sat back down to listen to the specters and their teachings.

With that, a stone pillar raised from the floor behind her. She told to use the force to access its secrets. Opening the pillar with her thoughts it exposed a red three-sided pyramid shaped object. It was topped with something the girl found so beautiful. It was topped with a magma orange burning hot crystal that was cracked, despite this imperfection she still saw the beauty and power in the crystal. Holding the pyramid in hand, the crowd of spirits chanted in repetition,

"Open it! Open it! Open it Noxcaedis!"

* * *

On a distant world, known as Tatooine, a battle in the sands was raging. A black-clad girl with a lightsaber was dueling with a beast that no person in their right mind would dare face, a surfaced Greater Krayt Dragon. So much larger than her as a person, she was not the only one to be involved with this spectacle, the local clan of sand people was watching in awe as this girl fought this beast. The sand people saw the girl fall from the sky and she was now wandering the sands away from their mesa. when she was almost engulfed by the creature. She evaded its maw as the creature surfaced, and she engaged the creature in mortal combat.

Leaping up one of its ten, powerful legs, the furious redhead slashed it open with her crimson blade. While still leaping up the beast, she laid in cut after insignificant cut with her blade. Jump after jump, the sand people watched as the dragon became ever much more annoyed with the pest making its way to its back. The girl's yellow eyes saw the situation differently as she got onto the back of the creature.

Feeling the spine below the flesh, she buried the glowing blade into the creature's spine. The creature screamed out in a booming agony. As she did this as it reared up into the sky, though this did not deter the attacker. Eclipsing the sun for the onlookers, they saw the silhouette of the girl climbing up the creature's spine towards the neck and the head, her blade still buried in the beast's spine. The blade dragging along, slicing the dragons vertebrae open grazing and disrupting the spinal cord along the way.

Upon reaching the head of the great beast. Looking down, She saw glowing red cracks in the top of the screaming beasts head, aiming for the center of the cracks she buried the blade into the skull of the creature, killing it instantly. As the creature toppled to the ground she rode the head down to the sand. A tinge of remorse came over her, as she felt an attraction to the beasts belly area like something was calling to her.

Excavating the giant carcass she found the gizzard where the call was coming from. As she opened it she saw the most beautiful things in her life, Pearls, some the size of her head though a small one about the size of a marble held her interest it was glowing pink out of the bluish green glow of the others. She tucked the pink pearl in her pocket with what remained of her equipment. Cutting what remained of her cloak to form a makeshift sack to put the pearls in, she was interrupted by chanting outside the carcass, chanting in a language she could not comprehend they cried, "Maiden of War! Maiden of War!" Repeating vigorously as she climbed out of the carcass to face them holding a pearl in hand. Holding it up so the men in rags could see. With this, they kneeled before her, as they viewed her as a divine gift, and a sand person despite her not being one of them.

* * *

Elsewhere in a dark corner of the galaxy, a figure who removed himself far from the galaxy. he felt the disturbances in the force. They were like the ones four months prior, though this one carried connotations, dark connotations for the galaxy. He stood up with his rusted brown droid behind him. Standing, he mounted the signature red mask to his face giving his identity, Revan. He had one goal in his mind, he had to find 'her'.

* * *

Returning to Drommund Kaas, Malserik had led the girls to their quarters. Though their quarter's resembled a small apartment more than just a bedroom. Complete with a small kitchen, dining table for two, full bathroom with a tub and shower along with the other amenities, and a bedroom with a large bed with a walk in closet. Malserik explained that these 'Rooms' were the guest rooms. They were completely furnished and quite luxurious. The red and white coloration of the room and its surrounding worked perfectly for them. Though, this did prompt one new question, who the hell stayed in these rooms?

Ruby vaulted over the couch, plopping down on the white cushions. While Weiss watched looking out into space. It was hitting her like a brick, just hours ago they were on Remnant, fighting Cinder, and now they were apprentices to a man on another planet. She had no time to truly comprehend the situation. Which only caused her to mutter,

"What the hell happened?" Weiss spoke thinking aloud about the situation they were in. Which caused Ruby to look back at her white-haired girlfriend.

"What's the matter, Weiss?" Ruby looked back with her head cocked at Weiss who snapped out of her shocked trance when Ruby spoke.

"It's just... You know, I am just trying to wrap my head around what is going on," Weiss spoke stuttering at first as she collected her thoughts. Her mind was spinning, she was drowning in her thoughts as this change was so sudden.

"I get what you mean, though I think we may have it better here than we ever would have on Remnant," Ruby said to Weiss as she stood and walked over to her, putting her gauntleted metal hand on her counterpart's shoulder to ease her nerves. "Weiss we are in this together, that is all I care about," Ruby smiled as her voice was soothing to the former heiress.

"With all that we learned, I mean your mom was a Jedi," Weiss replied still in shock over that fact, a fact that got her thinking about which off her parents were Jedi. Though it was at that moment Ruby's thoughts started going at full speed. _My mom was a part of that organization! The one person I truly looked up to was part of that._ There was part of her mind that tried rationalizing this though her view of her mother was cracked and flawed now.

"That she was," Ruby grumbled, as she released Weiss's shoulder, Weiss could tell by the way Ruby was tensing up she was livid.

Ruby then burst out with, "I wonder when she planned to take me?! When would she have told me the truth!? Did my dad know?! did Qrow know?! Or would she have left me to discover this on my own! Am I wrong to think this is something I should know?" Ruby ended her loud rant with a question to Weiss, though this one was spoken with more sadness than anger.

"Ruby, I think you should have been privy to this information," Weiss spoke solemnly as Ruby started sobbing as the cracks in the "supermom" started to get deeper and wider.

"At least I have you, Weiss," Ruby spoke her voice soft as she faintly smiled.

"Well I think we should get some sleep, Our training starts tomorrow," Weiss stated as she took off her belt and boots, which Ruby did the same though Ruby threw a quick joke as they walked towards the bedroom.

"Yeah, let's hope he doesn't fling us off a cliff." Ruby snarked, as the initiation to beacon was one of the most ridiculous things in her life, _that_ _poor bird._

* * *

 **A/N: Well, first off with this chapter's upload I have removed the old chapters as promised. Now I am going to say the next two chapters may take a bit longer than these ones I have been uploading as they are going to be almost entirely new, so expect it to take a wee bit longer. As always I want to know what you guys think of this reworking. Also about a few things I changed I wanted Ruby to hold even more animosity towards her mother, and I find her finding out at this time to be more appropriate and better to have it earlier. As for Summer, I decided to really kick her down a bit harder this time.**

 **Like I used to do, next chapter will be a more thorough look into the light side of the force.**

 **Also to celebrate this part of the Rewrite I found myself in the saber workshop again, so go check out my deviant art for it, (I am not going to link it directly here, as it does contain a slight spoiler to chapter 9)**

 **On that Bombshell, back to th- I mean** **Everyone have fun, stay safe and m** **ay the force be with you!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Jedi

**A/N well I am back with something different, A chapter that doesn't revolve around the Sith! So enjoy Chapter 9: The Jedi!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Jedi**

* * *

On Tython, Meetra had the two padawans following her down the serenely decorated halls, The blonde noting the sword on her belt. The two padawans could feel the stress of the master, she was holding back her emotions till they reached her quarters.

The walk was long and tense for Surik as she kept her composure through a stoic facade, something that was taking all of her will to do. She sighed as she saw the door to her personal chambers. Pressing the button to open the door, Surik admitted the padawans as she stifled tears.

Upon entering the two padawans sat on the couch that was against the blinded window. The blonde was the first to open her mouth after the door hissed closed.

"So mom, what's wrong?" the Blonde asked calmly as the doors closed, knowing something was wrong with Meetra or as she was known to the blonde, Summer Rose. The white-clad Jedi master sat in the chair across from them and laid the sword on the table in front of her. This got both of the Padawans to raise an eyebrow, as well as it drew their concern. Summer slumped down, her voice low and saddened as she spoke,

"I take it you two know of Amity Coliseum?" Summer asked of the two padawans, who looked at her with a quizzical look.

"Yes," the blonde and the black haired girls responded one after the other. How could they not know the amazing work of technology and architecture that was the symbol of the Vytal Festival?

"Well, how should I say this?" The white-clad woman pondered sadly, she was worried that was evident in her voice. "The entire Vytal Festival got ripped to this universe."

"What!?" They both yelled in shock, the black haired girl even breaking her stoic cool, "we should let Jaune and Lie Ren know" the blonde said, anxious of the implications of this event. It was then they realized this was the cause of the disturbance from earlier that morning.

"I fear to ask, but who came through," The raven haired girl asked as one of her feline ears twitched nervously as she asked. The look on Summer's face said it all, though she replied verbally just to get the point across.

"All the present classes of from all four school, White Fang, and staff," Summer replied as her voice cracked and buckled, "Though that isn't the worst of it on Tython today we found a woman with severe Amnesia, and two corpses and a severed arm with a sword," Summer explained to the padawans, trying to relax and restrain her tears, and failing.

"Mom what's wrong!?" The blonde asked as she bolted over to Summer who had broken down fully. Hugging her stepmother, the short haired blonde tried to console her mother over the unknown grief, though the next words out of Summer's mouth stopped her step daughter with shock.

"Yang, your uncle Qrow was one of the bodies," Summer said her voice weak and pained as Yang's arms slacked and she fell slowly backward in shock at what she had just heard. The black haired padawan continued with,

"Master Surik, who is the other body?" She could empathize with Yang, what she had just heard was definitely shocking, though she needed to know the identity of the second body, the response she got put her in a state of shock.

"A Faunus by the name of Adam Taurus," Summer spoke as she fought and regained her composer, some what. This made her amber eyes go wide with pure, absolute shock. A man she had hoped could regain his way in the light, a man that was like a brother to her, was now dead. She slumped back into the couch, she couldn't cry, he wanted him to change. Instead he wound up dead. "Blake, something wrong" Summer continued with as she watched Blake's shock.

"I knew Adam from my days in the White Fang," Blake spoke somberly, not letting a tear come forward, "He was like a brother to me," She admitted solemnly.

"Mom?" Yang asked quietly sobbing on the floor.

"Yes, Yang?" Summer inquired back as she looked at her troubled stepdaughter.

"Please don't tell me Ruby is here, please tell me she wasn't on Amity, tell me she's safely at home with dad," Yang said begging that her little sister had not fallen victim to the disturbance. Summer wanted to tell her yes so badly, she herself wished Ruby was on Remnant with Taiyang, but sadly that wasn't the case.

Summer took out Qrow's scroll and opened it to an image of Ruby, clad in black resting the sword that now rested on the table on her shoulder. It was sent to both Tai and Qrow with the caption of

* * *

Verstreut and I are ready to cut some White Fang cronies with team PRWN.

* * *

With that image open Summer handed the scroll over to Yang. Yang looked at the image, She saw Ruby with a sword a smug grin and black armor with a black cloak. Then the caption that didn't seem like Ruby at all. After a beat Yang recognized the sword Ruby had in that image. Her grip on the scroll slacked as she handed it back to Summer. She picked up the sword, The shine of the metal looked like Crescent's blade. The balance was perfect, that image told her this was Ruby's weapon. To Yang it was so simple, not Ruby's style at all. Then out of the blue Summer asked a question they did not expect?

"Yang, Blake do either of you know a Weiss Schnee?" Summer inquired at the weird contact on Qrow's scroll with the fun addendum to her name of 'Lil' Icy.'

"Yeah, that's Ruby's partner," they both responded in sequence, their voices still riddled with shock and sadness. though as Summer flicked through the messages she got a feel for what Ruby's life became for the last four months.

Apparently, Ruby distanced herself from everyone after the supposed deaths of Yang, Blake, Jaune, and Ren. Though, she saw what a good friend Weiss was being to Ruby through the messages even arranging a second birthday for her, as the first one got ruined. Though as the messages went on, it was evident Ruby and Weiss weren't just friends. They were lovers, and that was made evident when Weiss told Qrow. Yang attempted to ask what Summer was reading, but was quickly hushed.

* * *

Qrow your use of princess is flattering, but I have abandoned my position as heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and thus I am as out of money as a person can get.

* * *

This told Summer, reading the entire conversations Weiss and Qrow, she gathered Weiss had sacrificed everything to be with Ruby after the day the first disturbance had occurred. Something that touched Summer's heart. Though that feeling was soon dismissed by her seeing Ozpin's message calling all of her old team to Amity, this shocked her as this informed her Taiyang was here as well.

It was at that moment when she looked at a message Qrow had received from Ruby herself titled 'The Four Knights,' from the day before. In the message was an image with four girls clad black cloaks and a uniform suit armor to each other, all Blacked out, their weapons on display prominent display. That's when Summer noted something strange, the white streak in Ruby's hair and the black streak in the white haired girl's hair, which she assumed was this Weiss girl. On either side of them was two red heads, one with as spear the other with a hammer that Summer did not know.

there was one thing Summer could get from this image Ruby probably had changed and not for the better, and that white haired girl reminded of someone, she looked a lot like her, just a lot younger. Along with that, Qrow's reply would have definitely been humorous to Summer if she would have been in lighter mood.

* * *

Totally not a cult? Right. but you ladies look good, though you need more mini skirts!

* * *

Just by the way he responded Qrow was most likely under the influence of alcohol. Summer handed the scroll over to Yang, already opened to the image she just examined.

Looking at the image, she saw it shift seeing them all cloaked in darkness she couldn't make out the details but she saw the four figures morph, change position and lastly, saw them draw lightsabers, one blood red with a rose core with a cross guard, next to that blade she saw a odd sight, a deep dark blue blade with an ice blue core, the one to the left of the red blade's blade was on a lightsaber pike and it was compressed warbling pink blade with a magenta core and the one right of the blue blade's blade was a very unstable magma orange with a fiery core. The sight of this vision made Yang drop Qrow's scroll.

As the scroll clattered to the ground and Yang looked at the device with a shocked look, she drew both Summer and Blake's attention both asking, "Yang? What's wrong?" Though instead of answering Yang picked up the scroll again and looked at the image again, hoping to see the vision again, instead she saw the four black knights of PRWN clad in their armor, though their faces revealed. Though the one thing that made Yang tense up was how Ruby and Weiss were holding hands with there blades crossed between them.

With out reading any of the messages she assumed Weiss had stepped in to replace her. With this assumption in mind Yang's body did the rest, crushing the scroll. This dangerous assumption destroyed the only evidence they had of Ruby's life thus far.

Watching Yang, Blake had a question for Summer, as she distinctly remembered there being a severed arm found with Ruby's sword in hand. "Master Surik, you mentioned an arm that was found with that sword was it... you know?"

"Yes Blake it was Ruby's arm," Summer said solemnly as Yang darted up, taking a deep breath her eyes turned red, her shoulder-length hair ignited with flame as she yelled,

"So you mean to tell me my dear little sister is out there, with only one ARM!" Yang's voice blasted forth with an unheard rage. As Summer took the brunt of the vocal onslaught, Blake leaped up and grabbed the flaming Yang and pulling her back with a quick snap. When Yang faced her Blake told Yang,

"Yang please don't give into your anger like that, that type of anger will lead to the dark side," The black and white clad padawan spoke concisely.

"Ruby could be out there DIEING!" Yang yelled loud enough to make Blake wince from the pain in her feline ears. Yang promptly continued with "We should be out there looking for her!"

"Yang, I have no idea where she is, though she is in a civilized world, she will get help, I would love to go looking for her myself but we have no leads." Summer explained as she stood up to console the furious brawler. "It would be an impossible task, Yang I am sorry."

"Well if you won't I will!" Yang growled rebelliously, going to walk towards the door. It was at this point Blake stopped Yang once more, standing in front of her with a stern scowl on her face as she said,

"Yang, do you not think your mother wants to find and help Ruby too," Blake asked rhetorically, with a stern tone, staring down the furious brawler, "Remember what happened and what you swore to do, Yang."

"I do, I remember quite well," Yang growled, as she remembered that day four month's ago. The day she made her pledges that got her into the Jedi.

* * *

The blast had just consumed them, the four of them. The vortex they were flung into tortured them with bolts of lightning for the brief time it held them. It was even crueler slamming them face down into the muck of the land, and Realized to be even crueler when they found themselves with odd creatures with blasters and vibroswords attacking them. Later they learned the names of these hammer-headed bipeds was 'Flesh Raiders.'

Initially, they were surrounded, the raiders not moving on them due to their shocking entrance. When they stood up they saw the ramshackle camp and the dirt they landed in had a sparse amount of bones decorating it along with chunks of rusted metal, as the smell of ash filled the air.

Scared and afraid of the creatures in front of them communicated in a way that was impossible to translate, they readied to fight. Yang raised her fists deploying Ember Celica, Jaune raised Crocea Mors, Blake took a offensives stance with Gambol Shroud, and Lie Ren readied storm flower.

The flesh raiders were cautiously circling them, like vultures above a corpse. Looking around the lost four did not see their four teammates. This fact sent the blonde brawler into a rage that she could not control. Her eyes burning red with rage and her hair ignited in golden flames, as she feared the worst could have happened to her sister. She shot forward into the crowd of the tribal creatures.

Under attack the other three fought. though the weapons they had instead of plinking off their opponent's aura, they impacted the flesh with violent and bloody effects. Though they had little time to focus on this fact as the raiders sounded a battle horn, calling even more of them into the fray.

Yang's anger was overflowing, she thought her sister could be dead, and she had no idea what these creatures were and she didn't care. She was drenched in blood, each hit from their weapons just made her angrier. Her weapons causing especially violent effects to the attackers, who now were on the defensive.

Jaune was on the verge of gagging at the sight of the damage their weapons were causing to these creatures. Though he couldn't stop fighting, as this was a fight to the death. Blake and Lie Ren were in the same boat, fighting because there was no other option. The trio was back to back as the hordes swelled around them. Despite this, Yang's rage was still the loudest thing on the battle field. None of them had ever seen Yang like this her hair was shifting from burning gold to a flaming white as the red glow of her eyes intensified.

Yang felt like a failure, she failed to protect her sister. The one person she care the most about was probably dead, and yet she was alive somewhere fighting for her life against an opponent she did not understand. Caked in blood, gore, and viscera, Yang raised her bloodied fists and reloaded Ember Celica. Thought the white hot rage that had consumed her was doused, by three humming energy blades surrounding her, followed by a stern and concise,

"Do not move!" She saw wielders of the blades were cloaked in brown and tan robes. She could feel the humming in the blade in her body due to how close the tips of the blue and green blades were to her body. Raising her hands to put them up, her eyes returned to their normal lilac color. She looked around seeing the gory damage she had committed upon the creatures. She felt faint as the three blades kept humming away as she realized these things weren't a weird form of Grimm, they were living things. Looking at her hands she had realized what she had done.

The trio's weapons were coated in the crimson blood of the flesh raiders, though they had not attracted the vigor of the new faction that had entered the fray, their presence was enough scare them away. Though all four of them were appalled by their own actions, the sight of Yang surrounded by corpses and coated in blood, shook them to the core. Blake in particular was shocked with Yang's rage. Though it was at this point white cloaked figure approached the captive Yang, and lowered her hood. It was at this point the three watched as Yang broke down into tears. The three with the blades were dismissed as the woman in the white cloak hugged the upset brawler.

* * *

Hours later after they had been cleaned up and briefed as to were they where, the four were in shock. It was made clear to them by the white-clad woman, a Jedi by the name of Meetra Surik, or as known to Yang, Summer Rose, Ruby's supposedly deceased mother. They were all found able to become Jedi, the heroes of the galaxy. They were told, they most likely would never be able to return home. A fact that saddened them all, especially Yang. though she was told by Summer,

"If Ruby is not here now she is alive and well on remnant," This fact calmed Yang down slightly, but she relented in the fact Ruby would be okay. Okay with out her.

The next thing that happened was they were separated and brought before the Jedi Council. The council tested them, to ensure they could become Jedi by making them aware of their connection to the force. The first to be tested was Blake Belladonna, who immediately upon the council chambers was told to remove her bow. She revealed her Faunus heritage to the council upon this request.

"You have nothing to fear," The Grand Master spoke to Blake, as they commenced with the tests, normally all four of them would be too old to be trained, but the Jedi would take any person they could get. Blake adjusted quickly to using the force and past the tests the council put her through. Once the tests were complete Satele was asked who she would be assigned to.

"I will take Blake Belladonna as my own Padawan," Satele replied smiling at Blake, "You have the spirit of a Jedi, So Blake do you want to be my Padawan?" Satele asked of Blake, who standing in front of the council, she could tell this offer was a high honor, by the gasps among some of the council.

"I Accept" Blake replied blandly, She was cautious though the council seemed friendly and Satele seemed sincere with her offer, which made the black cat question her character with; _does she really see that kind of potential in me?_

The next to get tested was Jaune Arc, who was nervous as someone could get as he walked into the chamber. Walking in he saw the council looking at him with empathetic eyes. It was at this point one of the councilors stood up, dressed in blue knight like robes and armor, a woman that reminded Jaune of one of his older sisters, though slightly older, approached him with a gentle smile and a comforting stance. She told him to not to fear the council. Her voice was calm and truthful, after consoling him a little longer, he was calmed down enough to proceed with his test.

He passed the test not perfectly but well enough. Once he did, the council knew who his master was going to be, and by the looks of the councilors, she knew this as well. Satele then confirmed this by asking,

"Master Artorika, are you willing to take Jaune Arc under your wing?" Satele's inquiry was serious, she was going to let the nervous huntsman become a Jedi.

"Of course, if Jaune Arc is willing to be my padawan?" The woman who consoled Jaune spoke with her ever pleasant smile.

"I would be honored," the nervous young man replied with a smile. With that, he was dismissed, as one more of his comrades had to be tested.

Lie Ren was next, out of the three he seemed the most in tune with the light side of the force, even though he just discovered it. He was peaceable and calm if anyone showed promise it was him. To the council, he carried the attitude of a Jedi, a proper Jedi. He was exposed to the tests and he passed them remarkably quickly, he was mature beyond his years. Satele herself was impressed by his attitude. After his tests, he stood awaiting his judgment in front of the councilors.

"Satele who do you think should be his master?" one of the councilors spoke out for Satele,

"Robuke Gulliman, would you take this one under your wing?" Satele asked of the blue-clad Jedi ambassador. He nodded in return as he looked at Lie Ren who nodded back at him. As Lie Ren walked out, Surik stood up and spoke,

"Would you all just give Yang a chance?" Her voice desperate, as she felt like she was beating her head against a wall, "you took in the other three, just give her a chance." Surik pleaded only two of the councilors supported this notion, Satele, and Artorika, though the rest of the councilors got wind of what had occurred at the flesh raider camp as well.

"That girl has no control," Gulliman spoke as the head of the opposition, "She would be another Malserik," The ambassador spoke, his point getting glares for the use of that name.

"She wants to join, she wants to atone for what happened, She wants to be a Jedi," Surik explained, Yang told her stepmother 'she wanted to correct her actions an learn to never lose control like that again.' "I personally will teach her, the ways of the Jedi and help her to control her emotions."

"Please get all four of them, Artorika," Satele said, earning glares from the entire council, all with 'she can't be serious" written on their faces. In a few minutes, the four of them filed in the table of the council room lowered into the floor allowing Yang to stand in the middle of the council chambers as ordered.

"Now the reason all of you are here is to be witnesses to what Xiao Long says and so you can help her, in case she does faultier." grand master Shan explained as she stood to stand in front of the Blonde, who had all eyes on her "Yang Xiao Long, why do you want to become a Jedi?"

"I want become a Jedi, because. I want to help people. I want to be a good person. I want to make the galaxy around me a better place," Yang pleaded, She was proving to the councilors she was determined to do right. Though, with the next statement she shot herself in the proverbial foot, "It is what my sister would want me to do-"

"Motivated by family, Master Shan, you know admitting her would be a great risk," Master Ruus said standing up approaching Yang, preparing to enter into a full blown rant, thought before he could Satele stated quite loudly,

"By the Force, we can't let Viridian keep us restrained," Satele pressed firmly on the Jedi, "He did enough damage, and if we let him he will do ever more damage." Yang just stood there unsure of what to say as were her friends. Though, the council was looking at her with eyes of disapproval, almost fear or hatred.

"Surik, you have my blessings to take Yang as your padawan after the tests," Satele explained trusting Surik. Turning to face the council, she said firmly, "and this will be by my own executive order, I can sense this girl has potential."

with that said the council administered the tests, purposely making it harder, but any attempt to call this out, by the three newly minted Padawans was met with a quick glare from the council. Despite the increase in difficulty, Yang passed them all. Much to the annoyance of the council. Though one councilor added a new test.

"Now Xiao Long, prove to us that you can control your emotions," Master Ruus explained as the entire council minus three and the three padawans that wanted to speak out against this action. Yang, however, wanted to prove herself, and make it known she was serious. The next thing that happened was the quick strike with Ruus's quickly ignited yellow lightsaber. Fluttering to the floor was a large lock of golden hair, but Yang steeled herself knowing what she had to do now.

"Master Ruus, may I have your weapon?" Yang asked calmly finding an inner peace.

"See she wants to exact vengan-" The master spoke though Yang promptly interrupted him.

"If you want to cut my hair one strand at a time we will be here all day." She interrupted, looking at the master as she said, "Hey Blake grab my hair to make this easier," Blake did this as instructed but she looked at Yang like she was insane. "Now Master, let me carry my own burden, or will you rob me of discarding of this?"

This question made the Jedi Surrender his saber, as he tone was calm as she felt the light. Holding the blade in a awkward grip, she cut. All the hairs in Blake's hands went slack, and Yang's hair was cut to just above her shoulders. As the hair settled Yang spoke,

"I will be a Jedi, I will not abandon my friends, I will not abandon my family, if you ask me to, I will refuse, and may I be damned if I turn on the Jedi!" Yang proclaimed, "I will complete my training, I will become a Jedi, and I will be the big sister to the entire galaxy." Despite the absolution in her voice, her voice bore a unnerving calm. With that the council caved and named Yang a padawan, begrudgingly.

* * *

Back in the present, Yang remembered all the promises she made to the council. At points, she regretted them, but she was still thankful. She couldn't be mad at Summer and Blake for reminding her of them. Taking deep breaths, Yang calmed down thoroughly "Mom, keep an eye peeled for any information pertaining to Ruby, Okay?"

"I planned on doing that Yang," Summer smiled gently, happy to see Yang's fury waning, and her returning to reason, "Yang why don't you take Ruby's sword?" With that Yang picked the blade up again only to see another vision.

* * *

The sword in her hand disappeared, fading into a black fog, as a black cloaked figure stood at such. surrounded by inky black shadows, she approached slowly, kneeling at Yang's knees was her dear sister, bound, screaming for Yang, Mom, anyone else. Yang couldn't move as the figure ignited their blood red cross guarded weapon. Gold, glowing eyes looking at Yang's lilac. their face hard to see but a distinctly evil smile crawled upon it. With in a snap the bound Ruby was screaming in agony yet Yang could not move to help her as the red blade impaled her. In a dark distorted male voice Yang heard,

"Trust not, what you see, or believe, they could be lies or metaphor. Trust not, those closest to you, They could be lairs, or worse. All things hide secrets, Yang Xiao Long."

"Who is this?!" Yang yelled out, panicking at the sight of Ruby's corpse. Her body still locked still, as the vision faded to darkness she saw another figure, clad in black and red, clad with a red mask, his hands behind his back as he replied with,

"In all due time, Xiao Long, in due time."

* * *

Blake and Summer were both shocked when Yang collapsed seemingly at random after grabbing that sword, though after a tense minute she awoke gasping for air, and readily freaked out again. The two both begged of Yang to tell them what had just happened.

"I don't know what happened myself, some form of vision," Yang spoke, as she kept her cool, she didn't want to worry them with a hallucination or riddle. Especially one given to her by a man in a mask. "Nothing I would worry about" Yang smiled putting on light facade. "So Mom, what is the worst case scenario we could find Ruby in, minus injured or worse?" Summer was taken by surprise by this question, though she could think of two, which she shared with Blake and Yang

"Well one would be she ended up as a hutt's plaything, or..." Summer paused, thinking of the ultimate worse case scenario, "She joined the Sith," this line got both girls looking at her wide eye, with the though going in their minds asking _Could Ruby really join the Sith?_ Though, Surik had a method to correct such a situation, but she hated to use, as every time she did it took a piece of her.

Summer saw this look on their faces, "Considering how angry and vengeful Ruby was on Remnant, I don't have a hard time seeing her joining them," Summer explained as Yang realized all of the information she destroyed with that scroll. What she just heard screamed out about what she knew about her little sister, she would never turn to evil like that.

To Blake, this idea was all too possible. She had seen what a lust for vengeance could create especially against who killed someone they cared about. She had many questions but decided not to dwell on them, she could ask them later once the shock of the situation died down.

"We must find her, mother," Yang said coldly, her voice going cold if this happened they needed to find her as soon as possible. This couldn't wait that long, she had to be found.

"I know Yang, though worry more about your trials for now. Don't worry about Ruby, I am sure she will be fine," Summer smiled in a hopeful tone, but in reality she had a very bad feeling about the situation. "Now go find, Jaune and Lie Ren you two, inform them of this." Summer ordered as she had to revert back to being Meetra Surik as she herself, left the room. She had to go brief the Council, as her mind spun trying to piece the puzzle together.

* * *

Revan fell backwards after contacting someone like that. Reaching across the galaxy to influence a single person's vision was quite a feat. No less tell them something or show who they were, but considering this was a way to gain his newest allies trust, it was worth the exhaustion.

"Is it done?" A female voice asked calmly from behind Revan. as standing behind him was this woman accompanied by his droid companion, only hours ago she had awoken in his home, and now she was made aware of the truth of Summer.

"It is, though I couldn't do or say much, she was already in a troubled state," Revan explained calmly, sitting back up sluggishly. That vision that he interrupted was very graphic and detailed for a standard Jedi, and he didn't want to trouble her more with new facts that wouldn't be believed.

"What of the other?" The mysterious female figure asked as Revan replied solemnly. Revan knew who she meant, the one thing Surik wanted to hide from all. Her greatest pride, yet her greatest shame, her daughter.

"I can't find or reach her from here" He replied with a finality in the statement. He truly couldn't as much as he would want to, though, in reality, he had no idea where she was, but he did know where Surik was now, and had full intentions on contacting her. Though he did make a promise to train his new ally in the force. So he stood and the visor of his red mask locked with the slits in her Bone white mask. Though before he did, he turned to his droid companion and said,

"HK-47?" Revan spoke to gain his droid's attention, who replied quickly stating the intent of his statement before the sentence itself.

"Inquiry, Yes Master?" the Droid responded, turning so his glowing photoreceptors could acknowledge his master's mask.

"I have a task for you, Find Ruby Rose," Revan ordered That girl need to be found. She needed to find the truth of who she really was. His new ally agreed with this statement, as Summer or Surik depending, was a character full of misinformation and lies, something Revan realized all too late. Before facing Vitiate, she had manipulated him and used him.

"Questioning, should I terminate the meat bag?" HK asked with a hint of excitement in his synthetic voice. This got the woman with the white mask to focus on droid, who, if he had a mouth, would be smiling with glee.

"No Observe her, do not harm her, don't let any harm fall to her, if she finds you, you will acknowledge her as you new master and then you will inform me of her location," Revan spoke giving very specific orders to HK, who cocked his head in disappointment but obeyed his Master.

"Disappointed, acknowledged master" HK spoke as he left the chamber to begin his hunt. As he looked back at his new ally and said,

"Shall we begin, Raven?"

* * *

Yang, now with the sword on her back with her lightsabers on her belt was walking with Blake in silence, their thoughts were directed toward their former team leader. It was at this point Blake asked a very random though relevant question.

"Yang, what would you do if you find out Ruby is a Sith?" Blake asked quite curious of her partner's thought. This question racked her mind, she didn't know what she would do, not one bit.

"I guess it depends, Blake, I really don't know," Yang spoke, her voice solemn and defeated. She didn't want to think about it. Her little sister would never become a Sith.

"You wouldn't join her I hope?" Blake spoke, her voice concerned and inquisitive. That was a major issue Yang had after becoming a Jedi, Her semblance couldn't be used anymore, as it required rage to be used, it required pain, something she couldn't embrace anymore, thus making her semblance next to useless.

"I won't join the Sith, Blake, I would try to pull Ruby out of it," Yang responded as they walked past a window looking out upon the training yard. Students doing tasks and training below. Blake gestured with her finger to lean against the window railing before the window.

When they were both leaning on the railing Blake continued with, "what if she is so entrenched in being a Sith that you can't pull her out?" This question really made Yang ponder, though she treated this one more like a test of her allegiance.

"I don't know, but I won't join her, no matter how tempting it may be," Yang replied as they heard two sets of footsteps walking up to them, one accented by the clatter of metal plate armor and panting. Looking over their shoulders, the other two of the lost four revealed themselves.

Jaune looked ridiculous in the plate armor he was clad, it was old and heavy. Though he was required to wear it by his master, as to improve his endurance and strength. His cross saber mounted firmly on his belt, he walked up, each step orchestrated by the clattering of the armor.

Lie Ren, on the other hand, wore pure and traditional robes with no armor whatsoever. His saber on a traditional belt, his garb bore the insignia of consular in training and his master. Lie Ren, unlike Jaune, was not being trained for physical combat, but mental. Diplomacy, statesmanship, negotiation, the mental and verbal side of a conflict. He could fight, though like his master he would prefer not to.

"Hello, you two," Lie Ren spoke quite calmly, his voice showing how quickly he picked up how to be Jedi. If any of them was at home it was him. Despite the fact, he was missing his partner, Nora.

"Yeah hi," Jaune huffed calmly, the armor taking a toll on his body. Of all of the master's of the lost four Artorika seemed to be the most unorthodox, though for a Jedi she was unorthodox. She used a lot of the traditions of her home world to train Jaune, the plate mail being one of them. As she told Jaune, who parroted to his friends that the reason for this was, 'if one can move with agility in armor, they will be even more agile without.'

"Hey Ren, Hey Jaune," Yang replied back, turning to face their friend, though her voice wasn't as chipper as normal. Something that Jaune and Lie Ren both picked up on and decided to address though Lie was the first to get the question off.

"Is something wrong?" Lie Ren asked as he watched their body language. They shifted and squirmed under that question. While watching Lie Ren noted the blade on Yang's belt. Before he could inquire. They told them, they told them about Amity and what had happened, and that their former teams were now in this galaxy as well.

Jaune's face went pale as he realized how many people got brought into this mess. Lie Ren was calm, yet hopeful that they could find their friends eventually. The four of them discussed this till they had to report to their quarters for curfew.

Once in her quarters, a small bare bones room, Yang flopped on her bed pondering the visions from earlier, considering she was away from all the prying eyes of her Mother and friends. She could not figure out what was going on whatsoever. _What did he mean don't trust what I see and don't trust my friends, what is he trying to tell me?_ Yang kept pondering this as she embraced the silence of sleep. While far away, another party was just starting to learn and prepare themselves for their next day in the galaxy.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah this chapter was fun to write, as it gives light into how the Jedi operate in this universe. As for a few thing I really wanted to change like to show why the council is so skeptical of Yang, and to make Blake Satele's padawan. I feel I introduced Yang's state as Jedi quite well now, as well as introduce the lost four better than that small blurb in the old Chapter 3, and I feel that the Jedi would be hesitant to take up Yang though I feel Satele would side against the paranoia. One last thing, Yang now has something going on with her that will come up later in the story now. Also I hope people like Revan's earlier activity this time around.**

 **Next Chapter: 'a lesson in darkness'**

 **Also, there are some new reference characters on the council now so if you know them call them if you want! With this I also would like to ask for feedback on this new chapter, do you guys like it and what not? I would also like to welcome any one new to the story and give warnings to the potential spoilers in the Art I have made, but with that everyone have fun, stay safe and may the force be with you!**


	10. Chapter 10: The First Steps

**A/N: Ah, this chapter, originally was 1k words that got expanded to 5k. I am quite pleased with this, as this chapter is one of those things I glossed over originally. So please enjoy Chapter 10: The First Steps!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The First Steps**

* * *

Ruby and Weiss's first day in Waldstahl had started early in the morning the next day just a Malserik said it would. They were awoken by the intrusion of the staff of Waldstahl bringing them breakfast and a new set of the same outfit they got the night before. It was at this point the girls had their first encounter with a non-human species. Two maids with blue skin, and two tendrils on the back of their head, needless to say, they were shocked at first, then realized not to be too shocked about it as they appeared to be scared being in the room.

They were fast about their work making sure Ruby and Weiss had a quick and hearty morning meal ready. They dressed quickly as they wished not to disappoint their new teacher. They were readied in mere minutes. Ruby and Weiss got dressed in a similar fashion as they did yesterday. The maids had left them the meal for them to eat on their table as they exited.

Interested in their morning meal, the duo sat down at the small, two-person metal table. Weiss eating her food slowly and normally, while Ruby started to demolish the plate.

As they started eating Malserik himself entered. Asking various questions about how the girls slept and how they felt, just checking in on their general well-being. He was happy to see them awake and doing well. After his inquiries, he left the girls alone and walked over to watch the beauty of the thunder snowstorm that was hitting Hiskal today.

The duo ate in silence as they had no idea what to talk about. once they were finished Malserik spoke to them from the window, "Ladies can you feel anything wrong about this storm?"

The girls got the feeling the storm was dark and unnatural. They felt the darkness that the storm carried, they could tell it was caused by all of the dark energy on the planet. "It isn't natural," Weiss blurted out, as that was the first word that came to her mind.

"You would be correct, that storm is caused by the shear amount of Dark side energy on the planet," Malserik explained giving them their first lesson effectively. "Most of Drommund Kaas is covered in storms like this, all the time," Malserik explained calmly. "Now if you are done please follow me it is time to begin your first lessons,"

"Yes Mr. Malserik," they both replied in sync as Malserik was walking to the door. He stopped suddenly, something that unnerved the girls who had just stood up to follow. They could hear him chuckle.

"Ladies, if you were anywhere else in this empire, what you just said would have gotten you killed," Malserik chuckled as he turned to face the nervous girls who were wondering what they could have said that could remotely offensive.

Though before they could ask Malserik continued with, "I wouldn't have expected you to know this, but if you are an apprentice, a lord or lower, you always address a Darth as 'My lord,' and if you are their apprentice you may be expected to kneel as well." Malserik explained calmly as the girls looked at him like he was mad.

The next thing that came out of his mouth was an order to the girls "So please kneel and restate what you said more appropriately."

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, then back at Malserik, who bore a bright smile. Kneeling the two corrected their prior statements by saying "Yes, my lord."

Malserik smiled as they followed his command. Though, after he signaled them to stand and began to walk out of the room,"I don't expect you two to continue doing that, just acknowledge me as 'My Lord' around others, though in private just call me Malserik."

This got the girls to sigh in relief, glad he wasn't going to require them to say that when ever they addressed him. Walking along they followed Malserik through the maze-like network of halls and corridors. They entered the Main hall of the manor section of Waldstahl, a massive room that was sparsely decorated though it maintained the Sith architecture.

Though Malserik stopped as four droids armed with red lightsabers bolted out from the shadows. Malserik leaped up to a strut on the ceiling as he left the girls to fend for themselves in the ambush, though his thumb was over a button a few buttons on his bracer just in case.

Ruby and Weiss grabbed their sabers and ignited them and took up a defensive stance back to back to each other. The Droids were rushing rapidly one from each corner of the hall, their blades blaring. Readying for battle, Ruby assessed the threats facing her, as Weiss assessed her's. They ignited their blades as the droids closed the gap. It was evident to them the Droids were not equipped to handle their speed. Which they used to quickly dispatch the droids with little fight.

Malserik was quite impressed, though those droids were on the lowest setting they could be on. He tapped a button on his bracer, and four more droids were deployed. This time with the difficulty cranked up. He smiled as they were now closer to one of the deployment sites.

Ruby and Weiss heard the doors hiss open and more droids clattered out. Though unlike the last ones they parried their initial attacks. Ruby's attacks were fast and brutal, her style matching that of the seventh form, Juyo. Weiss was deft and precise with her attacks preferring thrusting and stabbing attacks to outright slashes like her counterpart. Once one of the droids was defeated it didn't take long for the other to finish off the other.

Malserik smiled malevolently as he saw the orange glow of burning metal. Though this was not his final test for them, He had another set of droids ready this time set on one of the highest levels for this model. This time two droids were released, and quickly put the girls on the defensive. Malserik watched as they were quickly overwhelmed.

Despite this, they weren't overwhelmed for long. As they employed their glyphs and speed quickly. Though, this wasn't enough as the droid's advanced processors kept up with their attacks and avoided the girls spell-like attacks. It was at this point Malserik got a thorough and shocking demonstration of the power of aura, as Ruby and Weiss both took blows at the legs from the lightsabers but suffered no damage. Before Ruby and Weiss could retaliate, The droids fell limp as Malserik descended from his perch on the ceiling.

"That is enough, you two!" He yelled as he descended from above. It was at this point Ruby and Weiss, angered by the use of these droids turned their blades on Malserik. Accusing him of putting them in danger, they kept their blades focused on him. Malserik smiled at this anger, and said: "Remember what I said yesterday?" In a quick flurry of viridian, their sabers were deactivated and on the floor behind them. "Now please pick them up that was just a basic test, I wanted to see how you two could handle yourselves."

* * *

Their first lesson after they cooled down was basic force use and etiquette. He taught them how to manipulate the environment through the force. Weiss was shocked as she had lifted her saber with out even lifting a finger. The response was similar from Ruby, though her response was one of shear awe. After this he had them practice basic pushes and pulls. Practicing how to recover from being disarmed being the main goal.

The next thing he did was brief them on imperial etiquette. Like at the start of the day, he taught them how Sith are expected to act. Teaching them how the non-force sensitive populous was to respect them, even as apprentices. He then explained the slavery system. Something that upset both of the girls. As Malserik explained this, he made it abundantly clear, he and the other Sith he worked with did not support this. He wanted to get some of the rougher material out of the way first, that way they could get used to the ideas.

After his lectures on some of the ins and outs of Sith society, he decided to have them practice using their saber's. Practicing, standard forms as he brought one of the most painful and dreaded torture devices to a learning force user, the training remote. To him, them trying to block the blaster bolts was downright amusing. With each failure to block came a pulse of their tethered aura, and a vulgar curse. Though the most memorable moment of this first day was how Weiss forgot her saber had a second emitter.

Weiss was doing quite well after closing her eyes and trusting in the force to guide her deflection of the bolts, while Ruby was still trying to do it with her eyes with marginal success. As she batted another bolt away, she overextended and misplaced her hand hitting the secondary blade's activation button.

Weiss jumped at the secondary ignition sound. Realizing how her arm was positioned, holding the blade up in the air at an angle. She was only an inch from the back of her head with the second blade. The next thing that she noted was the smell of burning hair. Paralyzed with fear by her weapon, she dared not move an inch lest she wanted to cut her spine wide open. Malserik and Ruby quickly took note of the situation and reacted. Ruby dashing over and deactivating her own saber as Malserik, walked over calmly as he turned off the remotes. Ruby saw the activation switches on the saber's hilt and hit them quickly.

Weiss threw the deactivate hilt at the wall, though while it was in mid flight it curved back towards Malserik's extended empty hand, that caught the deactivated blade in moments as it arched back to his hand through the force. As Malserik approached he said, "Well that is it for today, Ladies, I am sorry for being rough on you for the first day of your education," Malserik spoke calmly as he held Exar Kun's lightsaber for Weiss to take, she gave him a look of pure disgust. He saw them going to open their mouths to most likely protest the situation, but instead, he cut them off with,

"Though, I find my harshness a necessity, as most apprentices have to survive the academy on Korriban before even being looked at by a Sith. You two are lucky that you haven't gone through that hell," Malserik spoke calmly and seriously, "Also, I was going to make a comment after today's lesson about long hair being a burden in lightsaber combat, but it seemed you learned that lesson quite quickly, Weiss." Malserik smiled, holding back a chuckle as Weiss checked her offset pony tail, or better yet what was left of it. Feeling the singed hair, her hand recoiled and she stomped off in a huff, leaving her saber with Ruby and Malserik.

"Hey, Malserik can I give that saber a try?" Ruby asked once Weiss was out of the room. Malserik looked at the silver eyed girl like she was insane, though considering what happened he figured 'why not?' He tossed her the saber curious of how she was going to do with it.

* * *

Weiss found herself alone in the quarters she had been given, laying alone on the couch like a vagrant. Only one day in and she was fuming with anger at their teacher. First the ambush, then the lessons, surely she could learn this force stuff on her own, she thought. Though shortly after returning, she heard a knocking on the metal sliding door.

She huffed as she got up and answered it, on the other side she met one of the blue-skinned aliens from earlier. A Twi'lek, she learned the name of the species today.

"Ah, my lady, Lord Malserik sent me to assist you with your hair," Weiss sighed as this servant seemed sweet and happy. Letting her in, she figured like at White Castle, Malserik kept some one to deal with hair and personal grooming. "Well my lady, Lord Malserik said that Lady Ruby will return here in a bit, in the mean time he wanted me to have a look at your hair if that is alright with you, my lady."

Weiss let what remained of her ponytail down for the servant to examine the damage, as she took a seat. The hair was singed at the tips, giving off the foul odor of burned hair. Unpacking her kit the young stylist got to work.

* * *

Back in the main hall, Malserik watched as Ruby handled the short handled saber staff with remarkable skill. She was blocking blaster bolts and retaliating aggressively. Malserik watched this brilliant display Ruby was putting on. A spinning flurry of blue, that quickly morphed into one of blue and red, as she deactivated the second blade on Exar's saber, and engaged her own. It was at this moment he realized she would benefit from a paired saber design, while Weiss would benefit from a bent hilt saber.

Noting this down, he stopped the training sequence, much to Ruby's disappointment. She actually had broken a sweat was starting to get winded after the fifteen-minute long constant display. Though Malserik walked over to her with a smile on his face, something that made Ruby happy. As he walked over Ruby heard him mutter something under his breath about 'Imperious is going to love this,' but actually addressing Ruby he said,

"Impressive, Ruby, very well done." Malserik said with a smile, looking into Ruby's silver eyes, "Please that is all for today, please take Weiss's saber back to her and inform her we will continue tomorrow," Malserik spoke kindly and softly, as he dismissed Ruby for the day. She quite enjoyed the physical elements of the training and she could tell Malserik was proud with that display.

Malserik smiled as he walked down the corridors going deeper into his home and thus the mountain. His destination was the lab, his place of work before the girls showed up. He knew what he had to do and he had a night to build his apprentice's lightsabers that would fit them better. Pulling out his stocks of materials he got to work.

* * *

Weiss sat down in a chair in the bathroom as the young Twi'lek got to work. She only wanted a simple short bob cut, something so simple no one could screw it up. With each strand snipped away the blue tips of her hair receded back on to the stark white hair, something that grabbed the attention of the Twi'lek stylist.

"Is this normal?" She asked of Weiss, who quickly replied with a quick 'yes,' she was not in the mood for anything right now. She just wanted Ruby to get back. Once she had the desired hairstyle cut, she thanked the Twi'lek who left with after sweeping up the removed hair and smiled. She realized how quick the stylist worked as she looked at her scroll and saw only twelve minutes had passed. Annoyed, she flopped back on the couch and in a few minutes the door hissed open and Ruby had returned.

Ruby smiled at Weiss's new appearance, thinking it looked good rather than off, and she made it known through a flirtatious remark, which shocked Weiss. Ruby immediately started trying to come up new hairstyles that would work for Weiss. Though while Ruby did this Weiss went off on Malserik, something Ruby immediately tried to defuse. After a bit of a debate, the two went to bed.

* * *

The next day Weiss and Ruby awoke to Malserik letting himself into their quarters, leaving two objects on the main table for them. Ruby being curious at the early morning intrusion, decided to go see what their teacher had left for them. Weiss, who was content to stay in bed, heard the sound of two lightsabers being ignited, followed by a muted clicking and a cheer from her partner.

"These are perfect!" Ruby cheered! Weiss, quite curious of what made Ruby so happy, got up to investigate. In the main living area of their quarters, Ruby stood holding twin crimson blades. Though, Ruby sensing Weiss behind her clicked the sabers together, and deactivated the blades, to face Weiss with a smile. Weiss saw the new weapon and looked at Ruby quizzically before her eyes were drawn to the white leather belt still on the table with another saber on it. Going over to it she saw it was a bent hilt, with a single emitter. The curve of the hilt was comfortable in the hand as she picked it up. The ignition switch was located under her thumb and when ignited, the blue blade felt nimble and quick in the hand.

 _Well, this is a much-needed improvement,_ She thought as she handled the weapon. Then they found a note on paper, though they couldn't read it as it was in Aurebesh, one thing Malserik seemed to overlook. Though they ignored the note for a few as they got a more adept feel for their new weapons.

Malserik absolutely neglected the idea this could be an issue, and he learned this when he found them wandering Waldstahl, and not reporting to the room he told them to in the note. Taking this issue as one of up most importance, helped translate Aurebesh to the written language on found Remnant. It was not difficult as they shared similar characters, though they had to remember how to do it on the fly and in public.

Once the language barrier was out of the way, they practiced with their new weapons. Malserik was impressed to see their fighting styles flourish with these new weapons. Weiss began to transfer techniques from her training with a rapier to this new saber along with losing her animosity towards Malserik. With his guidance, she quickly became adept at fencing an opponent's blade with form two, Makashi. Though as she focused more on the blade she lost some of her earlier prowess with blaster deflection.

While with Ruby's style, Malserik was more hands off in comparison. He gave her freedom as paired sabers allowed for so much variation, and that's what Ruby did. She didn't take to one style, in particular, she used and mesh bits and pieces from them all. Her style was a quick red whirlwind, swapping between twin sabers and saber staff mid attack. Something that impressed Malserik quite a bit, as that one thought of _Imperious is going to love this,_ rang in his head.

When it came time for basic force training, it took some time to get them used to using it. Though once they got it, it became second nature to them, and their strength in the force was powerful. It was in this time, Ruby began being able to read people, she could tell basic intent and feelings at a glance. Though if she got physical contact, she could read even deeper. Malserik had only heard of one case of force sight manifesting like this.

After they got comfortable with these abilities, he started to put the screws to them. These screws consisting of; intense physical training and making them spar against training droids again, with both blasters and lightsaber analogs. Each day he added more variables in, making them have to use the force to augment their abilities in various ways from additional speed, strength, and endurance. As their training progressed he watched them incorporate their semblances into their styles with shocking effects.

As the weeks went he introduced them to even more advanced and deadly techniques as they honed their skills with the blade to a razor's edge. Though they encountered an interesting, though expected difficulty, in the form of their growing bodies, Weiss growing an extra few inches putting her at five feet, seven inches, and Ruby having fun with a new hairstyle for her partner, mainly an asymmetric right eye covering bob.

While Ruby's body, went through a rapid growth spurt blooming upward six inches, and her body filled out, her chest starting to become much more pronounced and her figure much more like that of a young woman. These changes were starting to be reflected in changes to her face as well. Her face started to bare a bit of a scowl and matured.

Of course, these growths made their training much more difficult for a time as not only did they have to keep up with what their bodies were throwing them, Malserik was turning up the intensity of the training. Though, despite his efforts, they kept up, much to their master's surprise. While they went through this period of growth and adjustment, Malserik decided to reduce their physical training.

Instead, he focused on education of the galaxy and its lore alongside other abilities he thought they would need to know minus lightsaber and force skills, as being a Sith involved being intelligent and cunning, as well as brutal. He introduced them to holocrons and holobooks worth of lore, large scale tactical scenarios, management, and even skills like piloting, as it was a sport of both Sith and Jedi to take to the stars in star fighters, like the modified Aurek tactical strike class fighters Malserik kept on hand, along with flight simulators.

* * *

After the period of relaxed physical training, he kicked them back in gear with an odd trial, deciding to make them uncomfortable. Malserik sent them up against the droids unarmed and alone, their weapon was to be the force itself.

Ruby was the first to endure this test which its purpose to have them realize the offensive capabilities of the force. In the chamber, Ruby slammed the droids around using force grip, pushes, and pulls. Her strikes in the force were so powerful that they even dented the reinforced wall and the sheer concussive force rattled the whole room.

Crunching, grinding, tearing, the destruction of the droids was a symphony to Ruby's ears as she threw them to a fro with the force. Even getting creative with her attacks, shoving droids into each other, using glyphs to accelerate fragments like bullets.

Watching from the observation room Malserik could tell Ruby was having a blast doing that as she smirked as she crushed the last droid with a very powerful force grip, her eyes turning yellow as she did. As she finished the slaughter of the droids she came out with a smile on her face telling Malserik and Weiss she was happy with what she did.

* * *

Weiss was second in the pit, she was lightly smiling as she entered and was surrounded by saber training droids tapping into the most recent ability Malserik had been teaching them, she felt the charges swelling in the palms of her hands.

Malserik had just started educating them on the basics of this ability; he was shocked to see the light blue sparks forming around Weiss's hands especially around the amulet on her left hand. Detecting the energy build up around their target the droids' programming switched to more caution oriented subroutines, raising their blades and focusing their blasters on the target. Static charge surrounded Weiss, causing her short blue-tipped white hair to rise into the air. With a dramatic flair, Weiss raised up her hands in front of her and released the stored up energy from her fingertips, releasing a torrent of force lightning that rivaled Malserik's ability.

He felt his hair stand on end as he watched the blue wave of lightning crackled through the air. It chained between the droids, destroying them upon contact After Weiss put down her hands seeing the destruction she unleashed. She fell to her knees huffing for air as that put a massive strain on her body. Ruby and Malserik Rushed in, Ruby making sure Weiss was okay, and Malserik looking at the destruction unleashed upon the droids, they were fried beyond repair.

"So how was that?" Weiss inquired with a smirk on her face as she stood up, still exerted from the attack.

"That was amazing!" Ruby gasped wanting to now learn how to use force lightning, with a very much increased enthusiasm as she hugged her partner.

"I will say, that was really quite impressive, Weiss, " Malserik said as he smiled seeing what Weiss could do, "How did you master lightning so quickly?"

"I didn't do anything special," Weiss smiled feeling the tips of her fingers stinging after that not realizing her lightning would be as powerful as it was. She looked out at the field of destruction, the droids were completely decimated at the lightning jumped between them.

* * *

After that day, Malserik realized these girls were prodigies when it came to the force, and like some of the luckiest of dark side users, seemingly unaffected by its touch even when using some of its most powerful abilities. After this realization, he pushed them harder than ever before, not that they minded. It had been eight months since their arrival on Drommund Kaas, despite pushing them harder Malserik had given them free time to do things of their choosing, take up hobbies and what not. Weiss practicing her skills with the force while Ruby worked on designing her own lightsaber, and they occasionally went down into Hiskal for dinner or just to walk around.

While they went out or did other things, Malserik was in his lab. He had managed to modify their 'Scrolls' to access the Imperial Holonet, as well as continue to tinker with things in his lab. He set Ruby and Weiss free for the day, they either went into to or went up to an isolated gazebo that Malserik built atop the second highest peak of Hiskal.

He had been toiling in his lab, a room filled with various gizmos and gadgets. The room also had a myriad of manufacturing technology for producing and testing some of the newest inventions or innovations that Malserik could come up with. For the past two years, he had bids in the Imperial military with blaster rifles and armor to replace the standards of the Imperial war machine. _Alas, I am an outsider to Acina and Vowrawns pawns,_ Malserik thought as he retired from his lab for the day, he was under Darth Imperious's Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, not Technology or Production, though being in command of Hiskal did give him sway with both Acina and Vowrawn, but not enough.

Deciding to put the project on hold when the girls arrived was a decision that saved him from a lot of mental headache with dealing with the Imperial Armaments Council. Though with them quickly mastering what he taught them, he was running out of things to do, so a return to one of his passions was necessary. Though with no headway being made on those projects he had to think. His mind wandered as he wandered back to his quarters in Hiskal. A sparsely decorated, yet unorganized space.

He checked in with his apprentices before he got undressed and went to bed, after confirming they were safely back in Waldstahl, he retired for the night, Trying to think of ways to further enhance Ruby and Weiss's training. After thinking for a few moments, he realized what they were lacking, live field experience, they could only do so much in the sterile confines of the training rooms. They needed to fight actual opponents in true combat, where mistakes have more consequence than a bad bruise or burn. They needed to fight, fight like true Sith.

There was a part of Malserik that asked, _are these girls ready for actual combat?_ Malserik feared what would happen to his apprentices, he didn't want anything to happen to them. Viridian thought as laid down in his bed looking up a the ceiling with his eye, the eye patch still boldly on his face and his saber and companion SturmKrieg, on the end table next to him. Since he was a Jedi, that blade had remained at his side. With some final thoughts, he fell into the murky blackness of sleep.

* * *

Outside Hiskal, in Kaas City, a red-clad woman boarded the last shuttle out to Hiskal. Considering how late it was she didn't expect to get there until the sun started to rise, though time was not something she cared about. Her appearance was atypical of Sith, little to know armor, just light flexible fabric, that was elegant yet practical.

Her face was unmarked, both by tattoo or the force. Though her skin and hair were ashen and an almost faded white blonde. By most who saw her she was beautiful, her body, her face, though the feature that stood out the most were her youth and eyes. They were a deep blue, a feature that made her stand out among her peers on the Dark Council. She looked young and spry for a Sith, barely into her mid-twenties by appearance.

The crew of the transport was stunned by the fact that someone of such importance had decided to grace a slow public shuttle at the middle of the night, especially out to a backwater city like Hiskal. She walked aboard carrying two boxes, trying to draw no unwanted attention to herself. Insisting she travel like the ordinary commoner, and that they do not announce her arrival in Hiskal. The crew noted the black and silver sabers mounted on the harness on her shoulders and obeyed this order with a gulp, as this order was backed with an unspoken threat.

She took her seat on the sparsely populated transport, and looked out at the night sky from the seat at the window and said in her Imperial accented voice,

"this is a wonderful night," She wanted to surprise her old friend whom she had not seen in years, along with meet the two girls she had been hearing so much about, and whom the two boxes on her lap were labeled for. Though she had also gotten wind of a rumor that some of their adversaries may be plotting on attacking Hiskal, little did she know tonight would be the night.

* * *

In the lower streets of Hiskal, four figures stood cloaked in black. Surveying, Scouting, they looked for locations to begin their onslaught. Even this late at night the streets of the city were still very active, filled with happy workers, celebrating another bonus for a production milestone. It was evident this town did not fear its ruler, this fact alone made them want to gag.

They found a very populated city square, easily hundreds of people around. There they struck out, red blades humming, screams piercing the cold night air, They struck the people down with either blade or the force. In second the mood flipped from joy to pure terror. One of the four was carrying a piece of technology that was forbidden in the empire, a communication jammer. They used this device so they could extend the amount of time they had before being 'contained,' by the private security forces that were the Hiskalan Guard.

The Hiskalan Guard was quick to respond, though they were not properly equipped to deal with four Sith hell bent on destruction. When trying to relay for reinforcements, the soldiers of Hiskal's finest were greeted with the cold and chilling static before they met their end at the end of a crimson blade.

Despite the randomness of this violence, these four Sith, who were mere apprentices were tasked with the objective of 'terrorize Hiskal and you will draw out Malserik,' by their masters. They were given free reign to do as they pleased in this town with no fear of repercussions. due to the jammer, a response from Waldstahl was delayed until sunrise. This was not the first time Hiskal or any other population center on Drommund Kaas dealt with a few rouge apprentices. They all had protocols set in place to deal with these kinds situations, Hiskal's was quite unique. Once the sun rose the order came, and it came in the form of 'Contain the threats and await support, they will be dealt with personally.'

* * *

 **A/N: I am not going to lie, I was slightly confused on how to write this. I didn't want to flow over the details like I did in original Chapter 3, but I didn't want to bog it down with too many short events or unnecessary detail either, I feel I balanced this quite well, I envision this chapter being the training montage and the gap filler. Also, I wanted to set up for next chapter as well and I feel I did that quite well. Along with giving Malserik a bit more character.**

 **An added bit of info, Weiss's new hairstyle I envision looking like the younger Cinder from volume 3's hairstyle.**

 **Alright well, that was Chapter 10 of Dark Side of a Rose, I hope everyone is enjoying this rewrite, I am quite enjoying doing this, so I want to hear from you guys. I also have an update on the chapter 1 word wall if any of you are interested. Along with that, I will have the polls up to go with this chapter, so have a look at those when you get a chance. With that out of the way, I also would like to ask for feedback on the rewrite in general beyond the polls, do you guys like it and what not or did I screw up big time? With that, everyone have fun, stay safe and may the force be with you!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor._**


	11. Chapter 11: True Combat

**A/N: Alright, this section of the story hasn't been altered that much, as I quite liked it, I just added some detail, changed some of the events, and reactions to said events. So without further additions Chapter 11: True Combat! (Also this chapter contains rougher subject matter, You have been warned.)**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: True Combat**

* * *

The morning in Hiskal was bright for once, the local star able to show through the break in the clouds of the force storm. Upon reaching Hiskal early in the morning, the cold and harsh mountain air scathed the lungs of those not used to the higher altitude, though the red-clad Sith took a deep nostalgic breath. _It really has been too long since I was last up here,_ she thought, as she went to the local guard outpost to request transit to the Waldstahl, still carrying the clothing boxes.

She found the posting woefully understaffed, with only two guardsmen present. The normal contingent would be upwards of ten to fifteen guards.

"Hello Guardsman," She smiled as she opened the door and peered through, her voice filled with energy, "I would like to request transit to Waldstahl," She continued with a bright smile, the guards just stared at her like she was mad.

"Under whose authority are you operating?" the younger of the two guards asked, following the procedure for admittance to Waldstahl.

"My own, I am Darth Imperious," She smiled, though it wasn't a cheerful smile, it was one of 'obey or die'

* * *

Captain Balakor was in the command center of Waldstahl trying to gain control of the situation. For a man who was just roughly awoken by the watch officer, he was awake, though only by adrenaline. The reports he was getting were dodgy at best. Despite this, he had given the containment order.

Grinding his teeth loudly, he needed to get Malserik up as soon as possible, this was beyond urgent. as he was going to leave, he received a transmission from the guard post at the transit terminal.

"Ugh what now?" he groaned as he looked down at the red screen and read the transmission.

* * *

Urgent!

Prepare Waldstahl for Imperious's arrival. We will brief her on the situation on the way up. She also has orders not to inform Malserik or wake him if he is asleep.

* * *

This message made Balakor wince with annoyance, as Imperious had a tendency to show up when she wasn't wanted. Then there was a guardsman that required discipline as, despite their ties to the Empire, they were loyal to Malserik first and for most. To the veteran soldier, this had trap or trick written all over it.

Though he decided to play this game. He went down to the hanger and greeted Imperious. From what she told him she just wanted to surprise Malserik with her appearance. as she handed the two boxes she was carrying off to a soldier, telling him to make sure they made it to Ruby and Weiss. The captain informed her that Malserik was not awake yet. To which her response was,

"Don't worry Balikor, I will get him up," She smiled this in a menacing way, though it was a playful menacing. To Balakor, and most who knew Imperious, she liked to play tricks on or have fun with her subordinates. Though, he relented and let Imperious have her fun.

* * *

Malserik was abruptly awoken by the opening of the door to his room. Still in the daze of sleep, analyzed the shape of the figure. After a quick rubbing of his exposed eye, the figure vanished. Unsure of what was going on, Malserik reached for his saber and his heart stopped. His saber was gone. Jumping up he heard a faint snickering, using the force to see the dark environment, though before he could detect an intruder he felt a hand cover his exposed eye and his saber being put into his right hand.

"Hello Viridian," whispered a voice Malserik knew all too well, he could only imagine the grin on her face, by the way, she sounded.

"Greeting's Imperious," Malserik spoke, his voice a mix of relieved and concerned, as her visit was unexpected, then again that's the way she operates, randomly and unexpectedly, "Don't you know it is rude to disturb someone's sleep like that?"

"You know it is rude to ignore your friends," She replied coyly as the door hissed open, and Balakor spoke into the room, "If Imperious is done annoying you, We have a situation, my lord,"

"Thank you, Captain, Imperious please go to my office I will join you there shortly," Malserik spoke as he went into the bathroom off of his bedroom, locking the door.

After about twenty minutes Malserik joined, Imperious in his study. Though he was moving quickly, he was preparing to go deal with the situation in Hiskal. As interesting as it was to see her friend scrambling she found it ridiculous that he was going out when he had two apprentices with him.

"What are you doing?" Imperious asked, crossing her arm, curious why her friend was so frantic. If the Hiskalan Guard was doing their job, he had all the time in the galaxy to respond.

"What do you mean?" Malserik snapped back, "Hiskal is under attack-"

"Send out Ruby and Weiss, surely they can handle it." Imperious spoke her voice cold and annoyed. Malserik himself stopped moving. He had doubts, they would be two to one down there. He started moving, almost dismissing the idea outright. Imperious sensed this doubt, _He's protecting them, this is interesting,_ she thought as she watched Malserik gather some of his field equipment from inside his desk.

"Viridian. Have faith in them," Imperious spoke her voice understanding, yet firm. She was concerned seeing one of her best friends and allies during her rise to power being over protective, this wasn't something the Malserik she knew was known for. "if they are as powerful as you have lead me to believe, they should be able to handle the situation quickly and effectively, So have them prove it to me." Imperious voice was warm to start but she finished cold, almost sounding heartless. Malserik realized she was indeed right they needed to prove their worth in true combat. With this realization in mind, he called for Dornettz as Imperious, informed him of who the belligerent faction was and belonged to. Then she told Malserik, she brought the two cloaks he requested.

* * *

Dornettz walked down the residential corridors with orders to wake, the young Ladies. He walked into their quarters and approached the door to their bedroom. The door slid open revealing the two girls in bed, "My ladies, lord Malserik has requested you to wake up now," the butler reported loudly to make sure the girls got up, which they jumped at the sound of the Dornettz's voice.

"Morning to you too, Dornettz," Ruby groaned as Dornettz only woke them if Malserik was not available or he had other things to tend to. Though the tone of his voice sounded much more rushed and urgent.

"Thank you, Captain," Weiss replied calmly rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"My ladies, Lord Malserik also said to get dressed and geared up within fifteen minutes" the butler spoke calmly and properly, "He says today is your first mission in the field, so if I may wish you good luck my ladies," Dornettz spoke calmly, as he left the room. One thing Weiss had grown accustomed to the respect the soldiers, staff, and people, had regarding them. Though Ruby was still unnerved by the fact she was being called a lady, she was never one for formalities, before but she was growing used to it, and she did find it kind of nice at times.

The duo hurried to get dressed, double-checking their gear and everything. Their gear looked in most part the same as when they first arrived, just more adjusted to fit their changing bodies. Aside from that Ruby had her paired saber split on her belt looking like two sabers. Weiss had her bent hilt lightsaber on her belt along with the lightsaber of Exar Kun just in case she was to lose her current one, despite her discomfort with the weapon.

Affixing all of their equipment the partners of red and white did a cursory glance over their appearance in the mirror. Ruby throughout her growth, let her hair style remain the same albeit slightly longer though. Weiss's hair was trimmed cleanly to above her shoulders to and it was loose with her bangs partially covering her right eye while the cover on her right eye was accented with the black and red streak of hair to show her merged aura. Though there were some other minor other changes that were noted by the girls, as they noted they had started to take a pallor and some shading around the eyes.

Walking down the hall Ruby spoke to Weiss, asking, "So what do you thinks going on?"

"No idea, but it seems urgent" Weiss replied calmly as they walked down the very familiar red corridors of the housing and living section of Waldstahl, Weiss loved the way the place was warmly decorated with wood and metallic accents, as it felt a lot warmer than her home back on Remnant.

"That it does," Ruby replied tensing her metal right hand as they approached Malserik's study, she felt like a battle was looming overhead. Troops and staff carried about their business and duties with an added and unusual and tense haste. They entered the command and logistics area of Waldstahl to get to Malserik's study. This area of the fortress was much more metallic and rough giving the feeling of imperial architecture. Approaching the door the study, Ruby smiled and said "well here we go." as the door automatically opened.

What they saw inside was Malserik and a woman in a red and black outfit, she looked intently at both Ruby and Weiss staring into their souls. She was leaning on Malserik's desk observing them with great attention and a subtle smirk. It was apparent by her face she was impressed. Though her eyes focused quickly on Ruby. As Imperious looked at Ruby she thought _That girl is special, I can feel it._

"Ruby, Weiss, please kneel before Darth Imperious," Malserik spoke calmly, though Ruby could tell he was nervous, like something was gnawing at him, If Ruby had learned one thing with her force sight ability, Malserik was a master of facades at times as he could mask his true feeling expertly. Though, as they kneeled Ruby having her right leg out front, Weiss with the left, Imperious spoke,

"Well I must say, they are quite impressive Malserik," She said smiling examining both Ruby and Weiss, her voice carried weight despite its youth. Both of the apprentices could feel, she was much more dangerous than she looked. "I can't wait to see how they handle those apprentices that Zarash and Sorvo sent." She said excitedly as she smirked at Ruby and Weiss.

"Apprentices?" they inquired at the same time.

"Yes, four apprentices were sent to cause panic in Hiskal, your mission will be to deal with them," Malserik explained calmly.

"So, dead or alive?" Weiss asked calmly concerned at what Malserik meant by 'deal with them.'

"Dead of course," Malserik replied, his voice calm and normal. Which just drew widened gazes from his apprentices whose faces both asked 'you want us to kill them?'

"They have already killed about two hundred people including some of my men," Malserik explained with disgust in his voice, he knew this would be a problem they only killed once before and that was in a fit of rage. Though he could tell by the shock of the death toll, this would be easier to convince them, so that is what he did. "We Sith are a brutal people, most back-stab to get further in life, you leave someone alive they will come back to bite you, I expect all four of their lightsabers at my feet by the end of today, Am I clear!" He said with an ordering tone, gesturing as he took his own saber off his belt and put it on the desk with a loud clack on the obsidian-like surface for emphasis.

"Yes, Master," they spoke together, disgruntled, but not completely off put, Malserik made it clear in the past to survive in the empire, they would have to kill. This was to be their first test. With the death toll at what it was, they needed to do this to save more lives.

"Your shuttle is in the hanger," Malserik explained calmly "Don't fail me!" he declared as they left the room.

"Be careful, you're reminding of my master, Malserik," Imperious teased playfully, She knew the girls would be okay, and if they got killed, they weren't really the prophesied ones.

"They still have a lot to learn," Malserik frowned, taking a seat at his desk as Imperious turned to face him as he did.

"They do, but I can see they will learn quickly," Imperious spoke calmly, her voice filled with confidence.

* * *

The walk to the hanger was calm as Ruby and Weiss contemplated what they were told. Ruby thought killing was unnecessary. While Weiss was disgusted by the idea ever since the Vytal festival incident with Adam. Entering the hanger they saw the shuttle it was a converted imperial drop ship. As they descended the scaffold to the hanger floor, one of Malserik's Troopers intercepted them and called out to them with a loud "My ladies!"

"Yes, Sergeant?" Ruby Responded knowing the rank pips on the solder's armor.

"Lady Imperious, asked for you to get these before you left," The sergeant explained, his voice masked by his helmet, in his hand was two clothing boxes with their names in Aurebesh on the front. Opening the boxes they found folded fabric, which as they unfurled it from the box revealed cloaks like the one Ruby and Weiss had on Remnant. Though Ruby's was black with a blood red lining and Weiss' was white with a navy blue lining. The hoods were pointed and the edges of the cloak were embroidered with an elegant design in a gold thread for Ruby and Silver for Weiss.

The girls smiled as they saw these though as they held them they noted they were both thicker and heavier than the cloaks they had on Remnant. Putting them on they realized they were tailored to fit them perfectly, and Ruby cheered, "Now we are in business!"

"That we are," Weiss smiled, walking over to the shuttle with Ruby.

* * *

Out in Hiskal, the guard had pinned the apprentices into a block of warehouses. They had blocked all transit into and out of the area. They formed a phalanx formation around the block using rapidly deployable barriers with all blasters facing inwards. They had enough firepower to decimate the building if needed, though that would only be done if ordered by Malserik himself. Though if the Apprentices tried to escape, no amount of blaster deflection could stop the amount of firepower they possessed.

Inside the warehouse, it was Dark and damp. The air filled with the vile smell of burned flesh, It also smelled of blood and recently dead corpses. With this darkness came voices of the tormented as they were cut down by the distinct sound of ignited lightsabers. Outside the chatter of blasters being trained and the flashing lights of the Hiskalan Guard rang out.

"Where is Jahi!?" one of the red lightsaber wielding apprentices asked as he decapitated one of the workers in the warehouse, his hood still raised to protect his identity, not that it really mattered.

"He's found another female he's taken a liking to!" another apprentice yelled back as she ran a crimson blade through another workers chest.

"That's the fourth one today! Mer'tosu," the first apprentice responded. None of the other three apprentice's agreed with how Jahi conducted himself, but they weren't going to try and stop him.

"You know how quickly he gets that way, Sodus," the female hissed as she ran another terrified worker through the chest. "I'm just glad it isn't me," she said in a hushed voice. she was disgusted by the actions of the Sith she and her partner were operating with for this mission.

"Where in the name of the damn emperor is Malserik!?" another apprentice yelled impatiently down, from a catwalk.

"No idea, Kodhass," Sodus responded as he found a woman groveling in the ground missing her right leg. He ran a blade up her back slowly bisecting her. "You'd think he would show up by now." even their masters had told them, 'terrorize Hiskal and you will draw out Malserik.' one would think even with a Jammer, Malserik would be awake and scrambling to take out the attackers on 'his city.'

Little did they know, his response was on the way. To make their first public appearances as his apprentices, Sith of white and red.

* * *

Off in the shuttle to the warehouse Ruby and Weiss had been briefed on the situation two hundred and fifty-seven dead, three survivors missing their limbs and suffering from sexual abuse. They were informed they would have to go in via air, due to the guard phalanx.

Ruby was already fuming at these people hearing how they tortured, pillaged, and raped Hiskal last night. Weiss was disgusted that anything sentient could commit this type of atrocity, especially just to draw someone out. They both had their saber's on hand, ready to ignite them as soon as they got inside.

As they approached the warehouse they saw Malserik's troops outside, blaster pointed inward, waiting to pour bolts into any door that opened. They specifically told anyone who remained inside to take cover and hide, as if they tried to escape they may be shot. They saw the remnants of the barricades that were used to funnel the apprentices to Malserik, or in the case of today Weiss and Ruby.

As the shuttle hovered over the warehouse, the girls leaped out the side using their glyphs to slow their decent to the point of where they could just lightly tap down on the roof. Weiss landed on the north end of the warehouse's roof, while Ruby landed on the south. Weiss unlatched and opened the skylight with the force and entered quietly. While Ruby, needing to vent and not giving a damn about subtlety, ripped the skylight violently out with the force, then jumped into the newly created entrance.

* * *

As Ruby entered, she felt her stomach seize up at the stench of burned flesh and other assorted nasty smells of various bodily emissions. She heard the various screams and moans of those left to die by these murderers.

Ruby was disgusted and angry as she walked along the catwalk quietly reaching the control room. There, her eyes witnessed something so disgusting, so disturbing. She saw a Sith Pureblood holding a small female by the neck choking her. The Pureblood was massive and whoever he was dominating he was using nothing but his brute strength to do it though by the smell he had attacked her with a lightsaber, though Ruby was reminded that three other girls had suffered abuse at the hands of one of the apprentices.

This realization caused Ruby to rip both of her sabers off of her belt and ignite them. The brute seemed to take notice and release the woman letting her fall to the ground. Then turn around he revealed his face his skin was bright clay red with glowing orange eyes, tendrils hanging from his chin.

"Oh Malserik has apprentices, this is new, but you little bitch will cower before the Great Jahi!" the Sith boasted as he ignited his lightsaber, Ruby could feel the sick and repugnant feelings in this Sith's mind, she wanted to puke at the thought.

"don't worry little girl I'm only going to cut your limbs off, you're no use to me dead" he explained with a creepy smile that could unease the most willful of individuals, his words wrought with disgusting implication. With each word that came out of his mouth, Ruby was getting angrier at the fact how could anyone allow this piece of trash to live.

He charged at Ruby with his single bladed lightsaber going with a strike for her legs, which Ruby blocked with her left lightsaber in a reverse grip. She quickly back stepped, the next blow came up high, Ruby deflected it off to the side with her right blade, redirecting the blade into the floor causing sparks to fly. Allowing her to kick the brute back into the wall, then charge him while he was down. He countered Ruby's attack with a force push that ripped Ruby's hood back. That's when the Pureblood saw it the look in her eyes they were the yellow he knew too well.

He charged Ruby to try to get the advantage with brute strength, but the girl static blocked him. That's when he realized she was holding back. As his eyes went wide as he realized this, that's when the 'Great' Jahi knew he had to give it his all to win this fight. He back stepped away and unleashed force lightning which his opponent deflected with her blade. _she is skilled_ , he thought as he tried another force push, this time only to be intercepted by another force push in the opposite direction. Though in this stalemate, Jahi used it as a distraction, attacking once again with brute strength and speed utilizing every aspect of form seven, Juyo he knew. Though for every fast and strong strike she seemed to get equally faster blocking and deflecting his blade with ease. They both stepped back to reassess the situation.

Ruby deemed it was time to transition to sabers staff combat and clicked the two sabers together. As she leaped at her opponent, in her mind she wondered why she had finished this apprentice off yet, __what am I doing I could have ended this by now,__ it was then she realized she was enjoying the fight. Back on Remnant, she always did like fighting the Grimm, it was a challenge, they were unpredictable after a while the droids Malserik pitted them up against got predictable, thus boring.

Now Ruby was up against the true opponent, one that could adapt, one that was unpredictable, one that was a monster like the ones she was so used to destroying, she didn't want it to end. She enjoyed feeling his fear, she felt the terror her opponent felt and she was savoring it. Knowing that a monster was going to face justice, she smiled, she felt the feeling she had when she first gained the used of the force. Jahi knew he was outclassed, though before she ended the duel she wanted him to know how outclassed he truly was.

Utilizing her bright red floral glyphs, she locked down his dominant saber arm in the air, as vines of thorny energy emerged from the glyph and further entangled her target. While this happened, she faded into a cloud of black and red petals with two glowing blades at either end, and they were moving so fast they were just a blur of energy.

Jahi felt the searing pain as his right arm was severed at the bicep. Before he could recover from this trauma he felt a hand grab him by the throat, looking down the right arm of the girl who held his throat he saw a smirk on her face as she said maintaining the smirk,

"Oh, the irony, the irony that I'm the one doing this, how many women have you defiled, you monster?!" She asked wickedly in a yelling rage. raised him off the ground, as she could see how he lived his life, "you've lost count haven't you, then it's only fitting I do this." Ruby spoke, disgusted as her voice turned into a low growl, Ruby loved this feeling of power she held as she felt the pulse in the pureblood's neck. She looked him in they eye, as she started to chuckle at him.

Jahi was terrified as the girl was reading him like a book; though as she chuckled at him, he drew his last breath. the metal fingers under the gauntlet crushed his neck with a loud bone shattering crack. After that was done Ruby threw his limp lifeless body to the ground like a rag doll and took the lightsaber from his severed hand. Though as she did she saw someone very familiar run over to the battered girl's side, but before she could say anything, another apprentice ambushed her. though, it seemed by the way he delayed he was letting her kill the Sith, as he was most likely a burden their group.

* * *

At the same time as Ruby's battle, Weiss elegantly dropped down to the main floor the warehouse behind one of the hooded apprentices, she saw the bodies lying around, to say she was disgusted was an understatement, these people up and tortured before they were killed. Only one word went through Weiss's mind with this knowledge, __unacceptable__. The apprentice flipped around from hearing the crash of Ruby's entrance. He was shocked at the sight that wasn't Malserik, his blade was already ignited so he just immediately charged, a fatal decision is Weiss ignited her blue blade and deftly parried his blade out of his hand then followed up with a slash across the chest, only deep enough to destroy the heart. As he fell, the communication jammer fell to the floor off his body and Weiss made a point of stomping it to destroy it.

"You killed Sodus, you bitch!" A female voice yelled running up to Weiss, who raised her blue blade up performing a Makashi salute to entice combat between her and the lavender-skinned Twi'lek in front of her. The aggression from her opponent gave Weiss the advantage, as she dodged, deftly parried, and redirected her blade.

Weiss was in complete control of the fight. Analyzing her opponent, she noticed she over-swung on downward cuts leaving her exposed for a few milliseconds. On the next downward cut, Weiss deftly put three quick stabs on her opponents left thigh. The damage was superficial but enough to cause pain to make her opponents fighting style even more erratic, causing her over-swing even more. Weiss noticed another opening this time on the right shoulder. Taking advantage of this opening she did a quick precise cut that severed the arm right before the joint at the shoulder. After doing this Weiss leaped over her opponent and ran her saber through the opponent's heart from behind. Weiss was starting to get angry after doing this not because of the fact of what she was doing, it was that her opponents possessed no skill with the blade. She was enjoying the fight, she liked the challenge, it was exhilarating. She wanted to duel someone with skill like her own.

She picked up the two sabers as ordered, that's when she heard the sounds of lightsabers whirring and clashing, she looked up to the catwalk to see Ruby dueling with her second opponent of the day, a male Zaabrak. Ruby was using her saber staff style while her opponent seemed to be on the defensive and Ruby was just trying to get an opening. Until Ruby slipped up choking her hands up too much on the rear of her saber staff. This gave her opponent a direct diagonal slash through the emitter on the front blade causing it to detonate. Sending fragments that plinked off her aura.

Ruby leaned back, smirking, discarding the now dead weight on her saber as she brought out her reserve saber and engaged its blade. The next move was one of cunning on Ruby's part. As she parried her reserve blade, the one Vader gave her and locked it in such a position if the blade were longer it would pierce his chest. That's when the blade jumped in length to double its length puncturing the apprentice's chest, killing him. As his body fell from the catwalk Ruby grabbed his saber and clipped it to her belt using the force. A contented smirk formed on her face as she affixed her sabers back to her belt.

Though in a split second after, Ruby turned around, Weiss saw Ruby ignite her sabers again. Wondering what would cause her to re-engage her sabers, Weiss force jumped up to the catwalk and the sight she saw was sad and shocking, and her eyes went wide at the sight.

Inside the main office control room, she saw Roman Torchwick hovering over a beaten and battered Neopolitan, treating her wounds. His appearance was ragged and so was Neo's the way he was furiously working suggested something was wrong, and seeing such a thing seemed so out of character for Roman. He was acting like a friend trying to help a friend. Seeing this Ruby retracted her blades as the battered mobster yelled out, "Okay if you aren't trying to kill us could you please give me a hand here!?"

* * *

Back at Waldstahl, Malserik and Imperious had moved their discussion to the overlook, the large porch-like balcony, and the air was brisk and cold as the ever present force storms relented the mountain top snow for once allowing for the rarely used overlook to be used. Imperious was leaning on the railing looking out on the city which actually looked quite beautiful at this time of day as the light that made it through the clouds gleamed off the building. While Malserik was sitting back in a chair sipping on a drink he had on the table next to him.

"You know Malserik, you really have done a number to the city that used to be the worst place on Drommund Kaas," Imperious explained Imperious calmly looking at the City's beauty. If there was one thing Waldstahl had, it was a view. Looking out at this city, seeing this sight always made her regret her trying to convince Malserik to stay as her adviser a few years ago.

"I know, amazing what respect, happiness, and prosperity can achieve," Malserik smiled pleasantly as he took another sip from his drink, "We are one of the major centers of industry in the Empire now."

"It's sad how many people have tried to take it from you," Imperious said somberly, "Just to ruin what you have accomplished."

"Usually one attempt every three months, though this is the first time they have used this many apprentices to do so." Malserik smiled with a subtle, slightly nervous, chuckle as he stood up to join Imperious by the railing. He was feeling out into the city, trying to feel for his apprentices. He felt them as their rage was a beacon in the force. He sighed with relief at this as he continued "It's usually just one or two apprentices, never had four before."

"How's your archive project going?" Imperious asked calmly, directly inquiring about Malserik's main duty under Imperious, the secure storage, and cataloging of rare and important artifacts.

"Very well I've managed to acquire quite a few new items that are extremely valuable," Malserik spoke calmly but quietly.

"Good, we will need all we can get for the plan," Imperious replied, ominously alluding to events to come. Though that's when she and Viridian sensed a presence lurking up from the shadows and it was at this time a voice spoke out.

"And what plan would that be, darling?" A mysterious female voice spoke teasingly, causing them to turn around to see two hooded figures behind them, "yes, please tell us of this plan," the tall male figure spoke as he drew his lightsaber staff un-ignited from his belt, while the female followed suit drawing two standard sabers from her belt.

"I'm afraid you don't need to know that." Malserik replied coolly, drawing his half circle guarded lightsaber from the back of his belt, "And why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be a civil discussion, Zarash?" Malserik Hissed back, after saying the Imperious drew her sabers off her harness.

"Oh we never planned for this to be civil, Malserik," the female said discarding her cloak as the male did the same, "We originally just wanted Hiskal from you, but Imperious's head would look great split on our walls for what you did to my sister, Ceres," Zarash, the female pureblood announced igniting her Sabers as she hissed Imperious's name.

"Oh, you're still bent up about that?" Imperious taunted in her accented voice, igniting her two bent hilt sabers into two fierce blue blades.

Malserik held his un-ignited blade up into a salute and ignited the blade then performed the salute, "I'll handle Zarash, she's too stupid to know how I fight, you take Sorvo"

"Got it!" She yelled and the fight was on.

* * *

Malserik opened with his standard form two, Makashi. Putting Zarash on the defensive as he attacked deftly to get a feel for her style to see if she had improved since five years ago. Which as he expected she had. For the former Jedi, this was no problem as he still had quite a few unseen tricks up his sleeve that very few see, let alone live to tell about.

"Your reliance on form two is laughable, Malserik," Zarash taunted verbosely. As if a prompt, Malserik demonstrated one of the features of his saber. He disengaged the main blade and engaged the second on the reverse end, showing his saber to be a short double saber. Though, this maneuver was to switch from form two to form five shien's reverse grip, something Zarash did not expect, though she did not expect the kick in the waist either.

Lunging forward Malserik's Viridian blade clashed on the red blades of the defender, who cross blocked the blade. As both, her blades were in use Malserik quickly swiped her legs with a kick, which caused her to tumble over. Though, she managed to avoid Malserik's blade narrowly. Using the force to blast herself away on the ground to avoid Malserik stab in the ground.

To recover Malserik switched back to the front blade, deactivating the rear blade while it was in the duracrete floor, freeing his weapon as Zarash threw a massive bolt of force lightning at Malserik, who simply extended his off hand and absorbed it. Taking in the dark energy he returned it with interest in a direct bolt that hit Zarash directly. For most people, a strike would have fried them to a charred skeleton, but Zarash wasn't the weakest thing around. She managed to get back up but her skin lost most of its pigment along with her hair from the blast.

Malserik was impressed that she could take this kind of punishment. Noting this, it was time to take the metaphorical gloves off as he engaged the second blade on his saber as Zarash charged in. her blade contacted the half circle guard with a wicked smile like she had won, though to her surprise, the guard was not cut, it was holding up to the blade of a lightsaber. She jumped back shocked not knowing why her blade would not cut.

"Got to love phrik alloys," Malserik taunted with a smug grin on his face, as he held his saber out in a ready stance.

"You one eyed bastard!" Zarash yelled, charging back in as Malserik parried the saber in her right hand with his front blade and angling his parry cause his rear blade to cut the emitter off the saber in her left hand. This precise move worked allowing him to deactivate the rear blade to focus on his opponent's blade in form two. She tried brute force attacks but Malserik dodged and parried with an ever-present smile, showing he was just toying with her. In response to his taunting smile, she force pushed him back caused him to almost go over the railing. with this near success, she tried another push which Malserik countered with one of his own and force jumped acrobatically over Zarash engaging the second blade on his saber again though he re-positioned the saber so the guard was now cocked thirty degrees towards the left.

"As fun as it has been Zarash I'm done playing with you," Malserik spoke, his voice starting to sound dark with annoyance. As the guard on his saber split in two opening to a full circle and the emitters locked down and started to go around the track that was formed by the full circular guard. Zarash who was shocked by this feature leaped up unpredictably. Malserik's response involved a saber throw with the rotation set to maximum, turning his lightsaber into a whirling disk of green energy death. Zarash deflected this attack as she landed. As Malserik returned the saber to his hand the blades locked back to its default position and the guard closed up. Though it was at this point Zarash dashed in and managed to land a scathing blow slicing Malserik's eyepatch on his right eye and caused a light scratch to the flesh on his cheek and eyebrow. This caused Malserik to recoil.

Quickly switching his saber to his left hand and covering his right eye with his right hand. _ _Now this just became dire, I need to get Zarash so Imperious is not in my line of sight,__ Malserik thought to himself as his hand was forced now, and he had to end this quickly to prevent any undo damage as much as he hated the idea he had to use his eye. He pushed Zarash onto the wall leaving only her in his line of sight. With that, he uncovered his right eye revealing an eye so corrupted by the dark side the skin around it was ashen and lined with blackened veins, the Sclera bloody pink tainted with dark veins and the Iris was glowing a bright sulfuric yellow and the pupil was a bloody red. Leaping out of his gaze Malserik cursed, covering his eye again with his hand.

Zarash noted how weird Malserik was acting with his eye. She charged in only to get parried and force pushed away. Bursting back up in a force dash toward Malserik, Zarash blasted forth with a flurry of blade work. Malserik countered this by opening his blade back into the rotary mode using it as offensive shield slicing with it in ways that looked like the rotation should intersect with his body. Yet he remained unscathed, the sound of blades being rapidly ignited and extinguished as a sensor detected where Malserik's body was functioning as an interrupt preventing any self-harm.

His fighting style became erratic as he started to smile in a way that unnerved the Sith lord as now she was on the defensive. Malserik's strikes were ones of ever growing madness as if something was racking him with pain. The onslaught of the spinning blade was too much. Zarash leaped back right into the position Malserik wanted, away from anyone and up against a wall. Malserik smiled as he uncovered his eye. As he gazed on Zarash she collapsed convulsing in pain.

Her body felt like it was on fire, burning without flame, she felt it was the force engulfing her in pain looking up into Malserik's right eye, he had a look of pity on his face like he was sad, this confused the Sith as her pain neared its end as her body disintegrated to ash.

Malserik frowned at the pile of ash in front of him, he cursed his eye. __Why just why do I have to have a power like this, one I cannot turn off, I have to hide it, conceal it lest it affects anyone I care about, again. Also, why does it have to make them suffer, I wanted power but every time I use it I'm reminded of what kind of a monster I could be. Damn this eye.__ Malseik thought as extinguished his saber and examined his weapon, the one thing he kept from his days as a Jedi. The crystals he used were ones his father gave him on a necklace and it was the one thing he was allowed to keep as a Jedi so he honored his family by making the necklace into his saber. A saber, which to the Jedi was unnecessarily complicated, and unnecessary in general. After his moment, he returned it back to his belt _once again thank you Sturmkreig, for a weapon you remind me who I am. I am a man who can't stand suffering yet I inflict it, by the force, I am weak._

* * *

As the battle between Malserik and Zarash kicked up, Sorvo and Ceres was just getting started. Sorvo heard the rumors of what Ceres could do, but little did he know she could actually turn invisible for a short time. Her strikes were precise and true something the brute of a Sith barely understood. To him, she was attacking in two places at once as she cloaked herself. In the confusion of her strikes, Ceres cut Sorvo's saber staff in two functional lightsabers.

He started to decipher a pattern from her attacks. Figuring this he managed to predict where she was going to come from. Seeing her blue blades being parried away made Sorvo smile as he felt he was getting the advantage. Little did he know how powerful Imperious's force pushes were, Flying through the air Sorvo used the force to pulse him forward to stop the motion he was in. his blades held out in an X to static block, Ceres's incoming attack little did he know she knew how to split the block hitting the inside of the lower half of the x she rotated the sabers apart allowing her to snap a kick to his stomach.

Though, as Sorvo recovered, Ceres realized this duel wasn't going to be won by her conventional means. Standing there for a few seconds in a ready stance connecting the hilts to form a pseudo S curve saber staff. as she took the blade in her right hand positioning her left hand above the blade and charged with force lightning. The already lively blue blades were now imbued with lightning. Sorvo didn't know the trick his opponent was using so he readied a block. Which is exactly what imperious wanted, she smirked as she came in for they attack run for as she leaped up in a whirlwind like blade attack as her blade contacted Sorvo's off-hand blade.

The lightning from Imperious's blades channeled down Sorvo's crimson blade into the hilt of his offhand saber overloading its circuitry, disabling it for the time being. Eliminating his blade, Ceres moved in for a follow-up strike only to be pushed back with a massive force push. She landed on her feet and slid back in a sprinter's start position with her lightsaber in front of her. Bolting forward, Imperious engaged in a flurry of attacks and parries that would look like blurs of blue and red energy to the normal eye. Sparks flying off the energy blades as they collided this continued for what seemed like minutes until Imperious could find an opening in Sorvo's defense. Expertly abusing this opening, she impaled her saber staff through Sorvo's chest ending him.

Withdrawing the blade, she deactivated them as she sensed Zarash was dispatched as well then remounted them on her harness. Turning around, she saw Malserik with his right hand covering his right eye, that's when she noticed the cut eye patch and the pile of ash that was in front of Malserik. In her mind, all she could say was _What did he do to her, and what is up with his eye?_

Malserik took out his first aid kit and quickly bandaged his cursed eye as the Hiskalan Guard of Waldstahl came to report. After they took both of their reports and Malserik's eye was covered again, he heard his Holocom bleeping on his belt. Taking it off, he saw a Small projection of Ruby and Weiss, who both reported in synchronization,

"Threats eliminated, master," Malserik smiled as he heard this as the communication, and then they continued with, "Also we found two more people from Remnant that require our assistance." This made Malserik smile, as it could be the other two from the 'Team PRWN' the girls mentioned so much. Sadly this was not the case.

* * *

 **A/N, and with that, the first bit of true combat in the Star Wars universe has taken place. As for the Changes I made, I wanted the Hiskalan Guard to react more realistically, penning the Sith into an area. I also wanted to make Malserik a bit more caring along with making Imperious a bit more 'Interesting' and the one to get Ruby and Weiss their new cloaks. I also wanted to change how Ruby and Weiss acted in their duels a bit. That's really all I can think of adding, in this A/N.**

 **So next chapter will be the continue where this one left off.**

 **With that, I would like so thank everyone for reading. I hope everyone is enjoying the story. With that, everyone have fun, stay safe and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	12. Chapter 12: A New Master

**A/N: Well I am back and here is Chapter 12: A New Master!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: A New Master**

* * *

Back in the warehouse after those words haunted the girl's minds. Ruby wanted to strangle Roman, as did Weiss but they felt like they would gain nothing from killing a man who was incarcerated when the first incident occurred. Feeling some pain watching Roman trying to help Neo tore at their hearts, as much as they wanted to, they couldn't harm them. They saw sorrow like they were they only thing the other had. That's when the girls thought, __they are from Remnant we should help them.__ That's when Ruby and Weiss after looking at each other ran over to Roman and Neo.

Neo had multiple wounds that were not critical like the stabs through her knees and elbows to immobilize along with that choke marks on her neck. Minus those wounds, it seemed Ruby had interrupted that Sith, she would recover but she looked like a broken doll. Ruby and Weiss took out their field first aid kits and began work to stabilize Neo. Ruby felt horrible as she knew how the beast that did this to Neo worked. Looking over, he was still dead on the floor next to them. Ignoring the body they continued working quickly. Weiss was quick with medicine, along with Ruby who got her stabilized but after a few seconds.

Roman's eyes went wide as plates when the dark haired girl looked over to him he knew immediately who it was all's he could say was in a horrified awe,

"Red?" Neo had informed him what happened to her team. Many times his plans were foiled by the girls but he couldn't help but feel bad when he heard four of them were killed. Yet here she was now, like a guardian angel, she was here helping Neo even though Neo said they had killed Adam and gravely wounded Cinder. He thought he would easily be on their shit list, but they were helping them.

Looking at Red, He was shocked at how much she had grown. After Neo was stabilized, Ruby and Weiss looked up at each other almost with a look that told the other, 'we did the right thing.' Standing up Ruby took out her scroll setting it to the frequency of the Hiskalan Guard and said, "Warehouse is clear we have two survivors with us that will need to be brought back to Waldstahl with us, proceed with clearing operations." After finishing the sentence, Ruby picked up the unconscious Neo and Weiss asked Roman,

"Torchwick can you stand?"

"Yes I can, why are you helping us?" He asked standing up. His outfit along with Neo's were complete rags, his appearance in general sloppy as he had grown a bit of a beard and his hair was much longer. The same went for Neo, minus her injuries, her body showed signs of malnourished among other things. Happy to get out of the warehouse, They walked out into a crowd of guardsmen as they filed past them revealing their shuttle waiting for them with Captain Balikor standing in the passenger area.

"My ladies, who are these two?" Balikor asked gesturing to take Neo from her hands which Ruby let him as he signaled a medical officer from the crowd of Hiskalan Guardsmen.

"Consider them guests on our part," Ruby spoke calmly and clearly almost referring to them almost as friends, despite there being no such relation.

"Yes, My lady" Balikor said as the medical officer got to work on Neo in the shuttle.

"Have a seat Torchwick" Weiss suggested as Torchwick was uncomfortable with the girls. He saw what Red could do to a person. Seeing a smaller girl snap a tank-like man's neck with her hand would put any person on edge with said girl. He was further shocked by how her eyes matched Cinder's.

"So why are you helping us?" Roman asked again. He really wanted to know, but Red's reply told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth any longer. She was definitely a piece of work now,

"You're a long way from home," is all Ruby smirked as she looked at the ragged mobster. He noted the burns on her face, something that made the young teen only look more intimidating, for someone who was a cute nuisance before she evolved. Though, before they took off, Ruby pulled out her scroll to report their success to their master.

On the flight to Waldstahl, Roman explained what exactly happened to him and Neo, how they were partners and how Cinder abandoned him and forced Neo to work for her. Apparently, Roman had seen Cinder's force powers prior and he was legitimately terrified of them, and betrayed him and took advantage of Neo who was his partner in crime. Then he got to his 'fun' times in the swamps of Drommund Kaas.

He told them how horrible it was having to evade every form of life they came across. They even people, as they had a tendency to shoot first ask questions later. Specifically those, 'assholes in blue armor,' They even had encountered a Gundark from the sounds of things.

Roman and Neo had to survive for six months in the swamps till they found their way into the mountains of the Hiskal Region and they had to climb them to avoid the wildlife, as apparently. After a few weeks, they found their way to the City.

They tried to settle in by hiding in less used locations until they found themselves in this warehouse today and whilst colorfully cursing the brute who attacked Neo, explained how the apprentices operated. They were ordered to slaughter innocents to draw out a person by the name of Malserik.

Weiss explained who Malserik was, to say this unnerved Roman was an understatement. Ruby remained uncomfortably silent the flight. Weiss could feel her unease, though it wasn't for the reasons she thought. Ruby felt uneasy with what she did, despite how justified it was, there was a part of her mind that didn't like what she did.

* * *

Off on Korriban, Two Figures stood around a secure blue hologram of a hooded figure who spoke to inform those on the other end of potential danger, as she and Librarian were attacked. This shocked the two figures who were glad they were safe, though they were informed to tread carefully, as information about their group could have been leaked. Shutting down the communication system, the two Darth's walked out of the hidden room.

"So what do you think is going on Velocitous?" the Mandalorian female asked her yellowed eyes locking with locking with the blood red of her Chiss counterpart.

"Just another attack on Hiskal," he said in coldly dignified response, "Though we must be cautious, more than ever." The Chiss said turning to the former bounty hunter, who still wears her battle armor even though she is a Darth now.

"That's obvious, so just go about normal business?" the Mandalorian asked of her Chiss counterpart.

"As always, Volitika" He responded tactfully, though he quickly changed the subject to something more relevant to Korriban, "Now what's this I've heard of a tomb witch?"

"Oh, that?" She said "that's something the academy is getting quite concerned about," Volitika replied with a slight grin, "She's a feral acolyte or that's what they would like to think, in reality, she only appeared after the massive disturbance."

"So you think they could be related?" Velocitous inquired if this was the case their boss might want to know about this.

"Most certainly, though right now the other Darths are trying to eliminate her" Volitika smiled, she wasn't going to put her apprentice against that bitch, "so for now let's let her keep doing what she's doing."

* * *

Returning to the events at Waldstahl, as the shuttle Touched down Captain Balikor had Neo and Roman taken to the fort's hospital. Ruby and Weiss were briefed on the attack by Dornettz, who led them to the Study where both Malserik and Imperious were sitting discussing the situation that had just occurred as Malserik's troops secured the fortress.

"Ah your back my apprentices, " Malserik said with a smile, his right eye wrapped with a gauze pad and bandages. Ruby and Weiss kneeled down and presented the four lightsabers they collected. As Malserik took them and examined them, he smirked: "I assume you realized the monsters these Sith were?"

"They were despicable wastes of life" Weiss cursed, Her voice callous and cold. With that said Ruby followed suit with,

"They were monsters, that did not deserve to live." Though, this line shocked Ruby herself, what was she becoming? A part of her realized what she was saying and hated it, though another part made her want to smile.

"That they were, I'm glad you two are safe and unharmed," Malserik smiled as he gestured for Ruby and Weiss to stand. He was legitimately happy for their safe return. Knowing that they could handle themselves now he announced, "From now on, your training will be more hands off with you two in the field, but -"

Malserik was interrupted as a blast shook the entire city. By the vibrations, Malserik knew it came from the mines. "Damn it, what is today!?" Malserik cursed, activating the communicator, he contacted the miner Foreman who was a scraggly bearded man "Foreman what in the name of the force just happened!"

"I don't know, Lord Malserik, other than we found some weird crystals and mined a few of them by hand but we had to blast the wall they were in and I guess they were explosive," the little blue hologram responded. This announcement made Weiss's heart skip a beat. _Explosive crystals,_ She thought, something that caused her next interjection,

"Foreman, do you have any surviving Crystal samples?" Weiss said interjecting in the conversation, earning a 'you don't think...' look from Ruby.

"We have a few my lady," The foreman responded not expecting one of Malserik's apprentices to interject.

"Please send them up here and cease all mining on the section of the mine till I can examine them," Weiss said earning looks from both Malserik and Imperious for her bold action. Who realized the looks she was being given, replied, "It could be Dust."

"Foreman please get that sample up here as soon as possible" Malserik said terminating the call then looking at his white-haired apprentice and asked, "Weiss do you have a technique we could use to mine Dust?"

"Of course, my old families company was based on the mining of dust so I could tell you how to do it," Weiss smirked. Though, while Weiss explained this, Ruby saw her reflection in the glass. Her eyes, it was her eyes that caused her to panic. Weiss and Malserik told her eyes switched color but she never saw it herself. she saw the sick sulfuric yellow they became her eyes reminded her of Cinder's eyes. Seeing this she slipped out.

During the time Ruby disappeared, Weiss explained everything about dust for a second time for Imperious, along with debriefed Malserik, on Roman and Neo, but when she gestured to Ruby who had disappeared and neither of the three noticed she did. That's when Weiss paid attention to her bond with Ruby, she was distressed, something was tearing her apart at the heart.

Looking outside through the curved window, Weiss knew where Ruby most likely was she found a gazebo and overlook platform along the mountains that they went for lunch and dinner when they weren't training or learning, though the weather really kicked up it was easily mountain top blizzard conditions as Ruby had just gone outside in that. Weiss huffed and went over to the door, saying "you daft dolt!"

"Weiss stay here", Imperious ordered harshly "I'll go find her," her voice filled with determination, walking out, and Weiss and Malserik wondered why Imperious was determined to do this.

"No Ruby is my lover, I'm going with you!" Weiss admitted as she actively disobeyed Imperious, and was going to follow her. Imperious wasn't upset at Weiss instead she understood her determination. _These two are truly inseparable,_ Imperious thought as she and Weiss raced across Waldstahl

"Great now I'm alone in this office," Malserik huffed sitting back down at his desk, "Really, what in the name of the entire universe is today!?" Malserik took the lightsabers and walked out of the room to go deposit them in his lab then he decided to go see the people Balikor mentioned were in the hospital.

* * *

The cold air felt nice to Ruby as she sat in the path of the mountain's wind, she looked at her right metal hand after taking the gauntlet off, as she looked at the mirror she snagged off the wall. Ruby studied her face and the changes that had unfolded, mainly the eyes which really concerned her she had the eyes of a monster, dark yellow eyes that seemed to almost glow, the slight scarring that ran up the right side her neck and her right cheek didn't help her case. Looking at how the skin around her eyes seemed darker and ashen she realized she looked evil, she also noted a slight change in her hair the red tips were now slightly brighter and went up her hair further the white streak was the same the blue was darker and rode further up her hair.

"Why did this have to happen to us!?" the young woman that was Ruby whimpered, as tears made contact on the cold mirror and her hand. Looking down she didn't see her face but the one of Cinder like she was haunting her with her own eyes. She screamed out as she saw that smirking face tormenting her. Though, as the blizzard engulfed her a dark apparition appeared behind her as well.

"You are weak, Fleurnoire!" a voice boomed echoing in the snowy wind. This voice Ruby recognized as the voice of Vader. Turning around Ruby saw him standing behind her, standing up Ruby faced him, "you have so much power yet you limit yourself! You yourself hold back!"

"So if it means I don't become like them I'll be happy!" Ruby yelled back while trying to use her ability to read people on him, though she was getting nothing from this man if he even was a man. The towering figure intimidated the now technically seventeen-year-old Ruby. Just looking at him gave her chills.

"Your gifts are great; you are the daughter of two of the greatest force users ever known, though you are so weak, as you don't fully embrace their gifts!" The masked man boomed at Ruby as he snapped forward, grabbing her neck and lifted her up by the throat, choking her. Ruby quickly snapped back at the vision unleashing a force push to release herself.

"you are trying to walk a line of moderation, a fool's errand, embrace the dark side and its power," the Sith's voice boomed. He could feel her body was so strong in the dark side, but like many Ruby tried to moderate her exposure to it, "Now fight me like a Sith, Fleurnoire!" Vader boomed as Ruby grabbed him using the force grip on his throat, giving in to her anger, blindly, something Vader quickly retaliated with powerful force push that slammed Ruby into the Gazebo,

"You still have much to learn," Vader's voice boomed in his victory. Walking over to the defeated teen, he, in a display of power, the black-clad Sith ripped Ruby back to her feet with the force as he said, "Remember why you took up the mantle of the Darkside, and it was the same reason I did, though the outcomes were different." Ruby, shocked to be back on her feet took a moment to reply, though what she asked was;

"What do you mean by that?" She was highly concerned by what the Sith meant by what he was saying.

"You managed to save the one you love from death, I killed mine," Vader explained, "I killed her because I let myself become blinded by the darkness and hatred," As Vader spoke Ruby could feel a sadness, a regret from the seemingly emotionless mask that was Vader's 'face.' "If you relent Weiss could be killed, but don't be so blinded you forget why you fight and why you use the darkness." The dark lord said as he faded away into a black mist.

* * *

Ruby awoke in the position she was in while examining her face hinting none of what just occurred was real Ruby. She slumped down to think, _what did he mean daughter of two force users so did that mean Taiyang her father was a Jedi too?_ Looking back down in the mirror seeing her still yellow eyes again though they were different this time, Ruby began to cry in her head, __am I meant to do this, am I meant to become like them. Weiss seems not to have a problem with it at times. I think she enjoys the idea of holding power, she's done it before, I'm not used to power. just a team leader from Remnant who just wants to be a hero. I don't feel like a hero if I have to kill people. the way I killed that Sith was cruel he should have stood trial, how did I even break his neck, is this hand that strong? Why did I enjoy killing them, am I truly meant to do this! What did he mean by if '_ If I relent Weiss could be killed _'?__ Ruby's mind was running wild with thoughts. Churning and overflowing, one side of her mind took hold and burst forward.

"Killing isn't right!" Ruby screamed out loud. Slamming her metal hand in the snow as the cold began to nip at her face. The spot where her prosthetic arm was fused to her limb was starting to ache as well from the cold.

"I would normally agree with you, Ruby," An accented female voice said from behind her, as she felt two warm hands on her shoulders, "Though, right now if you hadn't killed them they would have killed you, thus most likely leading to Weiss's death as well," Imperious spoke feeling the inner turmoil, in the young girl. "The Jedi are the same way, and they will kill, in this galaxy you have to kill to survive sometimes, lest you want to be destroyed by it."

"I'm agreeing with Imperious, you complete utter dolt! I'm not crazy about killing but it should be evident, We couldn't leave them alive," Ruby heard Weiss's voice scold her as she sat down next to Ruby, "So why did you run off?" Weiss asked calmly hugging Ruby.

"My eyes, they are the eyes of monsters!" Ruby cried as she looked Weiss in the eye. Weiss immediately saw the issue, her eyes hadn't returned to normal this time. Imperious walked over to see for herself.

Seeing this, she smiled and said, "You are not a monster, if you hadn't killed those four monster's, Hiskal would be in ruins by now," Imperious explained as Ruby looked up with her tainted eyes, they carried a dark beauty that made her look distinct, or at least that's what Imperious thought. "As for your eyes, that is the dark side making its mark on your body, you both have signs of it though it affects everyone differently. It's a sacrifice we must make to do what we do, though if I had to make a bet you two won't really see much of it, your bodies seem to be capable of controlling the dark side quite well, much more than most force users in fact. though, it also depends on how deep your immersion goes."

"So it won't get any worse Imperious?" Ruby asked as Weiss was actually quite curious. Her explanation set Ruby at ease. Though, as she looked at Imperious, she was legitimately being kind and caring. It was at this point She offered Ruby a hand to get up, as Weiss stood up. Sliding her gauntlet back on she took Imperious's hand and stood up.

"If anything you'll just get what I got," Imperious chuckled, the way the Darkside affected someone depended on so many factors, it was impossible to count or predict the effects of immersion. "I lost most of the pigment in my hair and skin and for your case Ruby, you will keep those gorgeous golden eyes of yours, the sooner one can fully embrace the dark side the more your body can adjust to using it," Imperious explained with a smile despite her apparent age compared to the girls, she seemed to be one that reminded Ruby of her Mom. "Also, girls, you can call me Ceres when it's just us."

"Okay Ceres," Ruby smiled quietly, while Weiss nodded acknowledging this fact.

"How about we go back to Waldstahl before Malserik goes insane, or we freeze to death out here." Ceres jabbed, Poking fun at her estranged friend, and the fact the wind chill made it quite unbearable to go outside. "Also Ruby, just know this you are a Hero to those of Hiskal, you saved and avenged lives today, sometimes eliminating a threat is the best option, remember that."

Getting back to Waldstahl the three Sith talked about how to get used to their new lives, it was then Imperious realized the shortcomings of Malserik's teaching methods he really didn't teach them how to utilize their flow of emotions properly. This caused her to make a decision, she was to help the girls realize their goals as Sith. Though, as she looked at Weiss and Ruby they reminded her of how she was when she was an apprentice to Zash, though they had one thing she didn't, each other. A bond that was their greatest strength, though it was also one of their greatest weaknesses.

Though, she knew Weiss would most likely work well with Malserik, so she smirked as it was the time she took an apprentice. That apprentice being Ruby Rose.

While they walked Ruby knew what she had to do, she had to become stronger, she needed to embrace who she was becoming. Vader was right, if she faltered Weiss could be killed, Something Ruby could not allow. She needed to realize her potential and become strong enough to face Vader, and Imperious seemed like the right person to help her.

* * *

In the Waldstahl hospital ward, Malserik met with the cleaned up and trimmed Roman Torchwick and the Recovering Neo. Malserik entered carrying a folding chair and introduced himself. After which he asked the most pertinent question he could come up with.

"So who exactly are you two?" Malserik asked as he sat down on the bed next to the recently awoken Neo, as he sat in a chair he brought into the stark white room. The interior of which was coated with advanced medical technology.

"Well, we are from Remnant, like 'Red' and 'Ice Queen.' Though, there we used to be enemies," Roman shrugged coolly. He was really wishing he had a cigar at the moment, but it really didn't matter as surviving the horrors of the swamps and the fact he had a limited supply to start meant he had to go clean for months.

"Yet they saved you?" Malserik inquired, confused, unsure of why the girls would save former enemies.

"I guess it's because we are from Remnant," Roman guessed, looking at the man in his one green eye, which actually for Roman, made him more comfortable, "honestly I don't know? When I realized it was Red I was expecting my head to be on the floor."

"Well, maybe they figured you could become allies here," Malserik proposed that as the most likely reason, or that they didn't want to see them getting killed. Malserik's guess was as good as Torchwick's.

"Well, there isn't much we can do," Roman explained calmly, thinking the blunt approach would work best he continued with, "We were criminals."

"Well, Mister... You never told me your name," Malserik said slightly deflated and an unamused frown on his face, as Weiss hadn't gotten to telling him their names, as Ruby had to go and run off.

"Well I'm Roman Torchwick, this is-," Roman spoke only to be interrupted by Malserik, He wasn't going to have another awkward encounter like Weiss and Ruby's again.

"Let her introduce herself," Malserik said not wanting a repeat of an awkward event. His tone was kind and understanding as he looked at the tricolored hair girl with a pleasant smile.

"She can't, she's mute," Roman replied bluntly deadpanning. He could understand what he was trying to do, but with Neo not being able to speak and this man probably not knowing sign language, it had to be said.

"Oh, apologies then, continue," Malserik said, facepalming at his own awkwardness sometimes, though the girl did do some weird motions with her hands at Malserik. Unfamiliar with what she was doing Malserik raised an eyebrow.

"She says 'hello, my name is Neopolitan, you can call me Neo for short'," Roman said watching the girl's hands as she signed so he could translate what she signed.

"Well back to what I was saying, even criminals have skills, you look like a leader, Mister Torchwick," Malserik spoke realizing how Torchwick could be useful.

"I did lead a group called the White Fang a while back," Roman admitted. Malserik noted this as Ruby and Weiss mentioned the White Fang on multiple occasions. Referring to them as the most hated enemy.

"Could you lead an army?" Malserik asked figuring a role for Roman.

"I suppose, why?" Roman asked back pondering the idea.

"Balikor I think I found your man," Malserik said into his gauntlet, after listening to his earpiece Malserik replied with, "Yes it's the one Ruby brought back, please train him, I have a good feeling about him." Malserik smiled closing the communications "How would you like a job as a Commander of the Hiskal Security force?"

"Any job is better than none, what about Neo?" Roman asked what will become of his friend.

"Intelligence most likely, I sense she has experience being people she's not." Malserik smiled as he sensed Neo tense up figuring he guessed it,

Neo signed her response, which roman translated, "She says 'You are correct while I was forced to work for Cinder I had to take up many disguises, doing that for a living would be fun,'"

"Dornettz I've found your agent, " Malserik said into his bracer again "she's going to need time to recover but she's what you're looking for," Once again they couldn't hear the responses.

"How is she mute?" Malserik asked as Neo showed a small pin hole scar on her neck showing physical damage was the cause. This caused Malserik to smile in a way that made Neo even uncomfortable, "Well Neo we could get you prosthetic vocal cords if you want?"

She smiled and nodded at Malserik, as the door hissed open and Ruby, Weiss, and Imperious walked in. Malserik saw Ruby's eyes, their new color was not that of the Sith sulfuric yellow, but gold, pure gold.

"How are they doing?" Ruby asked lowering her hood and the EKG that Neo was connected to jumped a beat as she saw Ruby and Weiss.

"They are fine, and they will be joining up as members of the Hiskalan Guard," Malserik smiled as a doctor walked up, a new eye patch for Malserik in hand. holding his hand on the gauze pad he released the bandages allowing them to fall to the ground still covering the eye with his hand and the gauze pad still in place over his eye, he slid the new eye patch over the gauze pad, after it was affixed he pulled the gauze pad from out from underneath the patch.

"you still owe me an explanation on that patch," Imperious said, disgruntled at Malserik, "and also I found your training of these girls lackluster," this sentence made Malserik's eye go wide. "Yes, you failed to teach them of how to apply their emotions and control them. Also, I noted Ruby's style involves paired sabers which she lost one of, with that, I will say, Ruby will be my apprentice now," this statement almost made Malserik's jaw drop and Ruby and Weiss's eyes went wide as dinner plates.

"I told you, you can't separate these girls!" Malserik yelled, as starting to get angry at Imperious, thinking she had plans to take Ruby back to Kaas City with her. Imperious expected this misinterpretation and decided to drop the planned metaphoric bomb on his head.

"I won't take her back to Kaas City. No, I will stay at Waldstahl to train her," Imperious announced, making the girls sigh but Malserik was internally panicking. "Don't worry Weiss will stay your apprentice," Imperious smiled as she approached the shaking Malserik.

"That's good, though what do they have to say about this arrangement," Malserik asked as he slammed on his uncaring facade, though Ruby could sense the truth out of him, He was nervous. He was a man with something to hide. Despite this knowledge, Ruby's response was still,

"I like the Idea of Imperious being my master," With this Ceres smiled, she finally had the apprentice she longed so much for.

"Ruby, are you sure about this?" Weiss asked concerned for her girlfriend's choice, in this regard. Ruby looked back at Weiss with a solemn smile, and replied with,

"I am sure Weiss, I think Imperious would be a great mentor to me, She seems to know what she is doing, and I feel like I can trust her," Ruby explained as she put her metal hand on Weiss's shoulder. Weiss sighed, She knew Ruby was set on this.

"Well then Malserik, you shall continue training Weiss. While I remain here and train Ruby," Imperious Smiled at her friend who was still panicking inside, as she put her hands on his shoulders. "Ruby, Weiss come with me please I would like to talk to you two." As they walked out Malserik sat there as Roman and Neo looked at him as he buckled. He was in shock, he wanted Imperious nowhere near him, considering what his curse reminded him of today. He didn't want her to suffer the same fate as Talos did during his one slip up, something that scarred Malserik, as he and Talos were good friends. He tried to focus on the present, he needed to go to his lab, now.

Seeing Malserik skulk off made Roman start to laugh. Though the door quickly opened to two men, Balakor and Dornettz. To which Roman's response was

"Well, shit."

* * *

Back home in their quarters. Weiss and Ruby sat down on the couch While Imperious sat down in the chair offset from the couch with a smile. She chuckled and said,

"of course he would have given you the room he built for me," That explained the more elaborate decorations and the color pallet, to Ruby and Weiss. "And before you two worry, I am going to have my own accommodations flown in," She smiled, hoping they didn't fear that she was going to take their room. Studying these girls with her eyes, she groaned at Malserik's simple clothes he had made for them. While doing this she also felt their power in the force.

They both resembled Jedi of the past, She couldn't remember their names for the life of her. That was beside the point, The prophecy said they had a heritage, as the blood of Jedi flowed in their veins. After sitting there in an awkward silence for a few seconds Weiss spoke asking a question she wanted to know the answer to, urgently, "So why did you just take up Ruby and not me as well?"

This question caught Imperious off guard, though she quickly formulated her response,"Well, Weiss, from what I know of you, you would work better with Malserik. With one apprentice I think Malserik would be a good mentor for you, considering I have told him what he needs to teach you," Imperious explained to Weiss, who raised an eyebrow at the woman,"Normally, Sith only take up one apprentice, It allows for more focused training, with that in mind Viridian will teach you well Weiss." Imperious smiled as she continued in a hushed tone "and if he doesn't, he'll regret it."

"Well then I want your guarantee that Ruby will be safe in your hands," Weiss spoke, her voice sounding more like a demanding parent than a concerned lover. Ruby was about to speak though Imperious raised her hand to stop her, Imperious had a smug look on her face as she spoke.

"Weiss, you are pushing demands on a Dark Councilor, you know," Imperious's face shifted smiling a wicked smile, as she decided to take a page from Malserik's book,"Most of the dark council would be quite offended at you right now Weiss, and when one offends the Dark Council it doesn't end well." Weiss rolled her eyes at that, she had heard examples like this before, "But fret not, I will not harm Ruby, I merely want her to be the best she can become."

It was at this point Ruby spoke up, "Weiss, I understand, but I think Imperious may be a better master for me, Malserik really didn't teach me as much as he taught you," Ruby explained looking over at her white-haired lover. "I mean you and him use the same lightsaber form!" Ruby exclaimed as Imperious chuckled.

"That brings me to the next point, Ruby uses paired sabers like I do," Ruby nodded with a smile, "so I could give her a few pointers, and from what Malserik told me she is very physical and aggressive in her style, so I am really curious as to what she can do," Imperious smiled as she took Castle and Jackle off her harness, connected them and set them on the little coffee table in front of her, and gestured for Ruby to pick them up, which she did.

The bent hilts felt weird in Ruby's hands, the checkered wood paneling felt more at home on a gun than on the side of a lightsaber, yet it worked well on the silver and black hilts. Then she thumbed the ignition switch, expecting to see a red blade. Though, both Weiss and Ruby were shocked to see blue blades.

"Like Malserik, I don't use a red blade," Imperious spoke to respond to the odd looks she was getting from both of the girls. "I used to use red, but blue just fits me better now I think," Imperious explained as the only reason she used blue is because she liked the color, she really had no other reason, minus Malserik's inspiration and unwillingness to conform to the use of the red blade. While holding the blades themselves the dark side permeated the blade, it was still a weapon of a Sith despite looking otherwise.

"So red crystals aren't required?" Ruby asked, just curious if there was some weird law against having a nonred blade.

"It's more a tradition for most, though it is one of those things that is left to personal discretion," Imperious smiled, there were a few Sith that didn't conform to the red blade tradition, though mostly they stuck to violet or orange blades. "then you have various shades of red, Blade color is entirely up to the user, as different colors can affect the handling of the blade," She explained as Ruby separated the sabers and maneuvered the blades around at which point, Weiss spoke.

"Ruby you look weird with blue sabers," Weiss chuckled, as she stated this Ruby deactivated the blades with a sigh.

"Like I don't know that," Ruby retorted sarcastically, as she set the hilts back on the table, for Ceres to pick back up.

"With your eyes, Ruby, a red blade works quite well," Imperious smiled Ruby flopped back down next to Weiss. She still wasn't used to her eyes, but if she had to live with them, she would. Though at this point the door opened and Dornettz popped his head in.

"Lady Imperious, your ship has landed in hanger four A," Dornettz spoke quickly, not wanting to take up much of her time.

"Thank you, Dornettz," She smiled, as she stood up and dismissed him, as he left, she said, "Well, I think I am going to head to my ship, so please rest up to you two. You two had a long day," She smiled as she walked towards the door. As it hissed open, Ruby made a decision she wanted to talk some more with her new mentor.

"Hey Weiss, I am going to go with Imperious, wanna come?" Ruby asked despite her being able to feel Weiss was exhausted. Though, secretly she didn't want Weiss to come, as some of the things she wanted to talk about could potentially upset Weiss.

"No Ruby, I am going to take a shower and get to sleep," Weiss explained punctuated with a yawn, "Try not to be gone too long okay?"

"Alright, I will try not to be gone too long," Ruby Smiled as she gave chase to Imperious.

* * *

Imperious was smiling, she finally had an apprentice. Ruby had extremely high potential and didn't even know it, and she wanted to unleash it. She was walking gleefully, a bounce in her step, a grin on her pale face. She earned odd glances from the Hiskalan Guard patrolling the corridors. It was getting dark, and the guard were on high alert after today.

Though in a split second she was halted by a sudden air blast from behind. Looking in front a cloud of red and black petals fluttered together, though standing in front of her was Ruby in her cloak. Imperious's eyes widened at the display of speed, Malserik said they were fast, but that was insane.

Putting her hand on her chest to calm her racing heart, she asked calmly in her accented voice, "Yes, Ruby?"

"I was wondering if we could talk some more, Ceres?" Ruby asked politely with a smile, her gilded eyes shining into Imperious's soul.

"That is fine by me," Imperious smiled, happy to see Ruby already taking initiative in her training. "Come on then," She smiled as she continued, and Ruby followed her. They got to the hanger at which Ruby's jaw hit the floor. The ship she saw in front of her was massive. Apparently, it was called Fury-class interceptor, to Ruby this ship was gorgeous. The ramp at the back lowered at their approach and they were greeted by a droid who addressed Imperious, and Ruby as they entered. His designation was 2V-R8, and it was the only other person on the ship minus them.

After they had a seat in the conference room and 2V made them some tea, Imperious asked, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to be stronger, more powerful, I want to be able to protect my friends and family," Ruby explained. With each word, Imperious's smile grew. She could tell Ruby had a passion to her, a fire that shined in her now golden eyes.

"Ruby, do you know the Sith Creed?" Ceres asked as she interlaced her fingers as she looked at the seventeen-year-old. Ruby's reply to this question was serious and quick,

"I do,"

"Would you care to recite it?" Imperious asked with a smile, two which Ruby smiled as she Started to Recite the creed.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion." She recited with vigor from her heart. Imperious smiled as Ruby's eyes showed the recently ignited fire.

"Through passion, we gain strength." Ruby spoke, changing 'I' to 'We,' something Imperious found very interesting. Yet, she ignored this and let her new apprentice continue

"Through strength, we gain power." Her vigor with this line was paramount like she enjoyed saying it.

"Through power, we gain victory." Ruby recited boldly, as Imperious was really curious about why she was saying 'we."

"Through victory, our chains are broken." Imperious's Cheshire grin was present as Ruby continued with the final verse of the creed.

"The Force shall free us." With those words out of Ruby's mouth, Imperious smiled, clapping slowly. Though, she had to ask,

"Ruby, why did you use terms for a group?" Imperious ask. If her answer aligned with what she was thinking, she was indeed perfect.

"United we stand, divided we fall, that's how it is between me and Weiss. If we get separated we will fall, though together we cannot lose, when we are together we can achieve anything," Ruby answered her new master's inquiry.

"Would you say the Sith, if they could co-operate could do the same?" Ceres asked of Ruby, curious to hear her response, and to truly judge if she could be let in on her plans and organization.

"At that point, I think the Sith would be unstoppable," Ruby spoke giving her opinion on the question, much to Ceres's delight. Strong, passionate, cooperative, Ruby was seemingly perfect to Imperious, who replied.

"Well, my apprentice, I will train you to be the best you can be," Imperious smiled though Ruby had to continue with one addendum as she stood up.

"I don't want you to hold back on me. Push me as hard as you can," Ruby demanded. she didn't care if the training broke her, she needed to become stronger at all costs.

* * *

Weiss at this point had long finished her shower and found she couldn't sleep. Lying awake, she awaited Ruby's return. She had her scroll out and was reviewing all of the documents relevant to dust she had, attempting to distract herself from the thoughts in her head.

She feared what Imperious could be doing. Weiss trusted her to an extent, but she feared she could manipulate Ruby, turning Ruby one of those Sith they fought today. Though these thoughts were interrupted by the hissing clatter of the bathroom door opening followed by a thud of Ruby throwing her belt onto the counter.

The sound of running water made Weiss sigh, thankful Ruby was back. Ruby was remarkably quick with her shower, finishing in only ten minutes. Afterward, the door to the bedroom opened revealing Ruby, clad in her night wear, literally just her white tunic and trousers, as they did make for some comfortable lounge and sleepwear as well as standard clothing.

"You took your time," Weiss chided, as Ruby had been gone for quite a while, "So, how is she?" Weiss asked as she sat up and turned on the lights to the room.

"She's nice," Ruby replied as she walked over and hopped in bed next to her snowy-haired partner. After getting comfortable, Ruby continued with, "kind of reminds me of my mom a bit,"

"So you trust her?" Weiss asked, she already knew the answer, but she just had to ask.

"Yeah, I do," Ruby responded, "she wants me to be the best I can be, as a matter of fact, my training starts tomorrow." Ruby continued with as she shut the lights off and said, "Let's try to get some sleep, okay."

"Sure," Weiss replied, unsure of the situation.

* * *

As Ruby slept, she received a vision, she was standing, dressed in fine clothes with her hood up, the right side of her face masked by something, her sabers in hand, though different than what she was used to. The dream was lucid, she could feel her equipment and her body as she started to walk the path in front of her.

She could tell the force was influencing this dream, how she had no idea. Walking forward she entered a chamber, in the center she saw herself, her younger, more innocent self. She approached herself as Vader spoke into her ear,

"Prove to me you have learned, Strike down your former self," feeling her thumb on her saber's hilt she ignited the blood red blade impaling her former self. Ruby understood what was going on, she had to let go of her former self. The goody two shoes, the hero, s _o naive,_ Ruby thought as she stabbed her former self in the heart. Just looking at her former self before the incident filled her with pain. She lamented what could have been, but she was long past that. Seeing the horror on her former self's face reminded her of the horrors she endured eight months ago.

Though her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thunderous scream. Just by the way it sounded Ruby could judge it was one of pain, anger, and denial. Hearing this, she withdrew her blade from the fading corpse and pointed it at the brown cloaked figure standing in front of her, with twin violet blades ignited. Her face was shadowed and prevented identification.

The interloper was panicked, having seen this type of dream before, though to her this dream was off, something was different. Little did she know the force heeded her call, but not in the way she wished.

* * *

 **A/N: So that was the end of Chapter 12. This chapter was a pain to write as I had some writers block in the middle of writing the last bits. I feel they are more polished now, also that cliff hanger of a dream will be continued next chapter. Speaking of next chapter, I am going to be focusing on the Jedi again. So I hope people like this chapter and with that, I would like so thank everyone for reading. I hope everyone is enjoying the story. So please everyone have fun, stay safe and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	13. Chapter 13: Knighted

**A/N: Well with that hellish week out of the way here is Chapter 13: Knighted.**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Knighted**

* * *

During the eight-month period, the Jedi had been busy bolstering their numbers, and training their padawans. As for the lost four, they found themselves out on missions with their masters. Though, for the most part, they were divided in their training. Though all of them had shared a mission or two.

Yang during this time was trying to breaking the stigma the Jedi had placed on her. Despite her insistence to look for Ruby, she remained calm and collected, not allowing her rage to the surface, publicly. Yang was proving to be quite promising as Satele predicted, despite her not having access to semblance. She still had her aura, but even that was weakened. Yang was also the only Jedi that carried a sword on her back, she refused to drop it despite having two lightsabers, as it was something of Ruby's.

* * *

Yang's first mission was on Corellia, in Coronet a few months ago. Yang was with Summer of course, and Blake and Satele. Their mission was to investigate rumors of Sith infiltration. They were in route to meet with one of Satele's contacts when they received a distress transmission from a local cargo tram.

"Help! Someone is trying to blow up the tram!" They saw the tram and maneuvered to match its velocity. Once they matched the velocity of the tram, Summer and Satele had Yang and Blake take on the tram as they went back up to take on the influx of Mercenary shuttles.

The tram was moving at high speeds, making the rain sting as it hit the two padawans. With the cityscape racing by, they Moved forward into the tram. Inside, they saw panicking civilians followed by a few droids as mercenaries fired toward them. Quick and ready, They ignited their blades of yellow and violet. Deflecting the bolts harmlessly away. Afterward, they slammed the mercs into the wall with snap force pushes to knock them unconscious. They preferred not to kill unless their hand was forced. As they moved forward through the tram they had to overcome mercenaries and the tram's own design, as Yang cursed,

"Who connects two sections of a tram with live power couplings that you have to walk across to get to the next car!" They surpassed these barriers by flipping a power switch. Yang and Blake both were shocked by the nonsensical design of the tram. As they evacuated the civilians towards the rear, they pushed forward to the front, it was evident the mercenaries were only there to keep the civilians in line, they did not expect Jedi intervention. So they adapted keeping them at a distance and opening fire. The first group then pinned them down found the blonde haired Jedi carried a ranged surprise.

Yang deployed Ember Celica, though instead of being a shotgun it was converted to a compacted stun blaster. Firing the blasters, she nailed the mercenaries with yellow stun bolts. The Jedi knew she had them, they tolerated them after they were converted to non-lethal weapons. Darting forward, deflecting bolts and stunning the opposition, they advanced through the cars of the tram. After passing through multiple cars and mercenaries, they came across the bombs. They were crude devices that were activated with a simple toggle push button.

Though after deactivating the bombs, the tram accelerated harshly almost sending them toppling them over, as the same voice that contacted initially informed the Jedi informed them that the acceleration was to ram a large structure.

Hearing this, they knew had to hurry, using the force to speed up. Ignoring the stinging of the rain they ran and hopped along the tram ignoring all of the mercs and making their way to the tram's cockpit. Once there, they stopped the tram, though it didn't go unnoticed. Behind them, they felt a chill run up their spines. Turning around, they saw a figure cloaked in black, with a red-bladed Lightsaber in hand.

"Well, two padawans think they can thwart, my master's plans," The what the girls assumed to be a Sith, spoke, continuing with, "I think it's time you two learned your place."

As he said this, He lunged forward towards Blake, who evaded by rolling out of the way of his attack. The black-clad aggressor swung back around to face Yang, who parried his strike. As she came in for a counterattack, he readied for a lightsaber strike, not a punch to the gut. As he recoiled, Blake slammed him with a force push, staggering him into the wall. His retaliation was a swift blast of force lightning that pummeled Blake, throwing her back on to the floor. This attack though allowed Yang to swoop in and try to attack the Sith as Blake twitched unconsciously. Screaming she slammed her blades at the Sith, who dodged the powerful strikes. Her eyes filled with rage, no one hurt her friends, ever. The man smiled as his hood fell backward, revealing him to be a male Zabrak.

With each missed strike, her rage burned inside her, causing her to attack more wildly even deploying Ember Celica to distract him. The Sith was smiling at her rage till he slipped up, fatally. He found himself impaled both of the violet blades, despite these severe wounds, they were not immediately fatal. Though, after she subdued the Sith, Yang stood over him ominously as she saw the smoldering holes going through the torso of the Sith. She was restraining herself from performing a coup de gras to finish off the suspected Sith.

This fact disturbed her, she gave into her rage, and now the Sith was wounded critically. Sure it may have been justified, but not to her. She looked at him, she saw a smile on the Sith's face. Little did she know he had some breath left in him, and in true Sith fashion, he used it to taunt.

"You have a lot of rage for a Jedi, unleash it and finish me off, give into your anger!" He commanded, he knew death was close either way. To him, this Jedi could be turned. "Do you want to be weak the rest of your life? You could be Stronger!" He smiled as Blake recovered and Yang sat there, trying to contain her rage, then the Sith said one thing that got him his wish, "Maybe you wouldn't be a failure at protecting those you care about."

With that taunt Yang stood back up, her short hair glowing, her eyes glowing red with rage. Her rage was unleashed, her semblance activated in blazing flame. Reversing the grip on one of her violet Sabers she went to finish him off when she heard a cry from behind her,

"Yang! Don't!" Blake cried out. Yang was operating out of pure scorn and rage. The humming blade stopped mere millimeters from the Sith's neck. She was fighting her rage. Though, as she looked down back at the Sith, he had succumbed to his wounds. Disengaging her blades, she went over to Blake to make sure she was okay, to which she was. She returned the question to Yang who dismissed it.

After their mission and into the investigation, they confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt the man as a Sith. He was the former apprentice, now lord under a Darth Kahless, a very prestigious Darth in Malgus's entourage of Sith. It was evident to all that Yang was troubled by this encounter, Summer did what she could to calm her down, but that Sith had worked his way under her skin. It also reminded her of the vision she had months ago. Eventually, Yang managed to get past that incident in a few months. In that time, Summer barred her from any missions that could involve Sith till she could steel herself and become resistant to Sith taunting. She struggled with the implications of what the Sith said to her.

* * *

As for the other two Jaune was out with his master traveling the republic, looking for where Jedi assistance was needed, in his mind at least he was out of that ridiculous armor. Though he was picking up a lot of mannerisms from Artorika, he was becoming a Jedi Knight. Polite, calm, always willing to help, he was beginning to remind Yang more and more of Ruby, someone Jaune took as a template.

Lie Ren, however, was with his master on Coruscant for most of his training. He was learning the ins and outs of diplomacy in the Republic senate. Like Master Gulliman, Ren was becoming a Jedi Consular, focusing on his tie to the force. He preferred not to fight at all, though he carried a saber just in case. His strength in the force was growing, he was one of those Jedi that the council knew he would become a master easily.

Though, if the lost four had one common goal, it was finding their friends. They all wanted to find Ruby and all of the other Remnants. Summer scoured all the information she could trying to find any information she could dig up on Remnant location. Despite the oddities that Remnants would be, no information could be sourced on them. The common theory was either that they got themselves killed or they assimilated and are trying to make the best of their situation.

Those on the councilors with grimmer perspectives and out looks tried to reinforce the former. While those who were more positive, like Summer and Artorika, thought the latter. The council had read the reports Surik had submitted, and like her they feared for the ones in the Sith worlds, as they would most likely be enslaved if they were Faunus, and or killed.

* * *

Over the course of a month all of the Lost Four had returned to Tython, They were deemed to be ready for their trials to knighthood by their Master, even though some were more ready than others. Their hands were forced as the Republic was breathing down their neck, they wanted the Jedi to be ready for war. Due to this training of all padawans was to be speedy and the trials relaxed by a Republic mandate.

For her defeat of a Sith, Yang was exempted from her trials by a decision made Satele and Surik. A decision that did not resonate well with a majority of the council, though they agreed to it. As she had defeated a lord. Like Yang, Jaune Arc was exempted from his trials due to what had occurred on his most recent mission, he had faced a Sith. Though the one he faced was a low-level Darth by the name of Velocitous, who was after an artifact recovered on Dantooine. Though he had escaped and Jaune survived the encounter, as they both left scars on the other.

Both Blake and Lie Ren had to face trials, as requested by their Master's, as Blake despite her promise and mental fortitude, She didn't prove herself to Satele. Lie Ren on the other hand had yet to prove himself in true combat against another force user. Something the council wanted him to do, and they insisted that the combat be as close as possible to the real thing. Even going so far as to assign a master to face him. The council wanted to run the full trials, but they needed Jedi, so they were forced to use quick non-standard trials.

* * *

The night before Blake and Ren's trials, far away in the tombs of Korriban, the specters in the tombs were cheering jovially as another acolyte of the false empire was slaughtered by a metal blade. the executioner was wearing black rags fashioned into witch-like black garments formed from the robes of the dead. Her skin showing in numerous places, was as white as paper and her once red hair had faded to a deep pink, her hair ragged, her irises turned red and the skin surrounding her eyes turned dark shadowing her eyes, Though, no dark veins had surfaced.

Her body was covered in red markings painted using the acolyte's blood, that could be seen through the gaps on along with the numerous relics that covered her body including a weapon she herself fashioned a retrosaber connected to a power pack on her belt. The cable was reinforced with Sith alchemy so lightsabers couldn't cut it along with the hilt as she made a saber that could become a guard shoto or a normal retrosaber. She was known to the crowd of dark spirits as Noxcaedis and the tomb witch to the acolytes and apprentices. The only thing that remained of who she used to be was the knife on her belt, the only thing reminding her who she truly was.

She was a fine duelist and force user who gave the spirits a show that kept them entertained, as the spirits of Sith long dead watched her fell those of the false empire. They applauded her slaughter. The relationship between her and the spirits of old was they would teach her so long as she spilled blood for them, which she did often to keep learning the tombs and their secrets. She had no idea how much time had passed nor did she care at the time, Though today was the day that the spirits were going to unleash her upon Korriban, some spirits had been given to her as sacrifices to boost her power merging with her in the force giving Noxcaedis the ability to truly use her ingrain affinity towards spirit walk.

Tying the scepter she was known for wielding to her back, a gift from one of her many spirit masters. She emerged from the tombs and used a wave force corruption to turn a majority of the troops and young acolytes into her puppets just as the creed went the force had indeed freed her. the Valley of the Dark Lords was to be hers.

* * *

While on the desert world of Tatooine, a town was burning. Eradicated at the hands of an army of sand people and their war-maiden, who had united most clans under one banner. They were now a brutal army, arming themselves with increasingly more advanced tactics, blasters, armor. They were becoming a terror every settlement left tributes for, lest they want to be attacked and raided. The war maiden and her army were called the Night Raiders as they attacked under the veil of darkness. Their dress reflected this as they wore dark covers over their standard garb.

Their leader was the most prominent of darker clad, raiders, a visor of carved bone with red tinted glass to cover the eyes, her mask was a thin material if she wasn't their leader, they almost wouldn't approve of the mask as it conformed to her face. Her dress was like that of most war band members of her army minus her belt with a red sheathed knife, her visor, and her head coverings and the bright orange braid that hung out of the wrappings that covered her head. In her hands was a pink bladed lightsaber mounted to a long decorated Gaderffii stick with the sharp flanged spike on the bottom of her lightsaber pike.

Her latest strikes had been brutal to come across as most of the victims have their legs severed if they get in their way. The people of the cities and towns have been worrying over when the war maiden would start to get more ambitious, she was a very avid force user in her raids often charging herself with her own lightning. Due to this use of the force, local Jedi tried to eliminate her, with no success, thus causing the republic to take an interest in her as she eliminated those Jedi. Though unknown to the two darker elements of the former team JNPR, the light aligned elements watched their action through a force vision in their sleep.

* * *

They could not see detail, or identify if it was their former partners or the location. Jaune was the first to wake. He awoke with a gasp, He was shocked at the horrifying vision. His heart raced as his mind ran wild, _Was that Pyrrha?_ He asked himself, he couldn't remember the face from the dream that well. Sitting up, Jaune felt sick about what he just witnessed. He hoped that it was a dream.

He was disgusted by the bloodshed, and the fact the person he saw looked like one of his friends, getting up, his feet touched the cold stone floor. He needed to talk to his master immediately.

* * *

Lie Ren's reaction was one more of intrigue than of shock. He recognized the fighting style, and realized who it could be. _Nora?_ He asked to the force. He was not upset by the fact that Nora could be a dark side user, in fact he found it quite interesting. Ren, unknown to any was a Jedi of a unique opinion, one that he kept hidden from his master and the council. He held a belief that the Light and Dark could work in balance and harmony, if handled responsibly. Though, this thought depended on, if both sides could cooperate, putting aside their differences to work for a greater good.

Ren stood up, groaning from his sore muscles. Jaune had thrown him through a few intense bouts of lightsaber combat yesterday. He wanted be ready for what ever the council threw at him, so he had Jaune help him. Filing the dream away into his memories, he wanted to focus his mind on his trials. He dressed in his green and earth robes. Walking out of his quarters with his rarely used saber on his belt. He walked through the halls, his trials weren't until much later, but he wanted to eat and maybe get some practice in with his blade.

The halls of the temple were empty at this time in the morning, usually. As he walked he heard Jaune speaking. This made Ren raise an eyebrow, as even as a Jedi, Jaune was rarely up this early. As he rounded the corner he saw Jaune with his master. They both gave a look of shock, seeing Lie Ren come around the corner.

"Oh hey Ren," Jaune spoke acknowledging his friend's presence.

"Greeting, Lie Ren," The knightly Artorika smile, though she promptly followed her greeting up with, "Why are you up so early, certainly you could use the rest," Lie Ren was never one to evade or lie. So he told them the truth,

"An interesting vision woke me," He said, disinterested. Jaune slumped down a bit and responded with,

"You too, huh?"

"I guess so," Lie Ren replied, intrigued by this coincidence. Deciding to want to discuss this more, Lie Ren asked if they wanted to get something to eat. Smiling they both agreed to this, discussing the matter of their visions with Artorika.

* * *

Blake awoke as the bright sunlight beamed into the window of her quarters. Her sleep was calm and undisturbed. Checking the time she realized she had one hour till her trials where to begin. Noting this she got dressed quickly. Taking her saber and other various equipment she readied herself.

Her trials like so many others were to take place in the training yard in front of the academy. To the temple, these trials were normally to be private, with no spectators, but that changed with the war. Outside a crowd had gathered as Satele stood in the arena awaiting the arrival of her padawan.

Though in the other training area next to Blake's Lie Ren's Trial was to occur at the same time. They were trials of combat. They had to last thirty minutes against a standing master while staying in the training area. Blake was to fight her own Master, while Lie Ren was to duel Artorika. For all those who watched the duels were intense, The masters had them on the defensive for the first half.

Lie Ren's guard was an awe inspiring sight, Using his blade more like a shield than a a weapon. He was showing his doctrine of self defense. Each strike Artorika made with her gold bladed cross guarded saber was either, blocked, parried, dodged, or a mix of all of them. Changing her strategy, her goal was now to lock his blade. Though as she did this she felt her grip on her saber be loosened as he struck the blade and the crossguard in on deft, unexpected move. Disarming her Lie Ren smiled as her saber deactivated in the air as he had his blade pointed at her throat. He had passed his trial my elimination of his opponent.

* * *

Blake's trial was much more intense, Satele was not holding back any punches. At first Blake thought her master was trying to kill her. It was at this point Blake understood her trial, this was to be true combat. Yellow blade on Blue, the saber staves collided, Blake using every ounce of agility to keep up with her master. Even then she still took a few glancing hits to her Aura. Deciding it was time, she activated her semblance, deploying two of her shadow clones Satele could identify which Blake was a real one but the shadows served as an effective distraction.

Though, as the combat progressed, both of the combatant's were waning from exertion. Despite this, they kept the duel going. Satele using force pushes and shoves to disrupt Blake. The feline part of her, let her dodge the the blasts with swift, agile movements. Though before she could retaliate with a force based attack of her own, the thirty minute time dinged, letting them know they were done

"Good work, my padawan," Satele smiled at Blake, sweating and panting. The crowd of Jedi around them gave them a hearty applause.

"Thank you Master Shan," Blake smiled, huffing and puffing. Surik watched the duel conclude and smiled all of the original four Remnants were now to become Jedi knights. Something the lost four had to celebrate.

* * *

A few days later, in a small chamber on Tython, Meetra was still checking reports for signs of Ruby, or any other Remnants for that matter, to her dismay nothing on the Remnants that arrived eight months ago came through. She had been hunting relentlessly for any sign of Ruby or Remnants. It was at this point her terminal bleeped. She saw a message come through that was untitled, though it was from Revan. This shocked her even though it was one cryptic line.

* * *

I know about Ruby, why didn't you tell me?

* * *

Meetra's heart stopped, she met with Revan once before after he freed himself from Vitiate but that was months ago. If he knew about Ruby he must have figured who she was. He left no way to contact him back, this concerned Meetra so much more than anything else. Her darkest secret, one she would take to the grave, was now found out. She cursed the idea of the secret she held but she viewed it as a necessary evil.

Meetra stowed and put on her joyful facade as she had to be down in the main hall to watch Padawans be knighted. Despite the context of war over-looming the event, it was still to be a happy and joyous event. the halls were calm as every Jedi not out in the field was here to congratulate the newly minted knight, some would say the Jedi were rushing Padawans to knight hood, which they were, they needed to be ready for the upcoming war.

"Meetra," A female voice said from behind, her which caused Meetra to turn around and walk backwards awkwardly to face the one Jedi she counted as a personal friend, Artorika. Fully dressed in her white and blue robe that went low almost like a dress, gold accents flowed with the blue colors, her gilded cross shaped hilt on prominent display on her belt. She was young for a master at twenty seven her hair kept in a bun on the back of her head with a braid surrounding her bangs neatly cut and the sides of her hair hanging just past her jaw line the only thing slightly out of line was a bit of hair that always tuck out and never combed down, and her eyes were a bright cyan.

Following by her side was Padawan Jaune Arc, who was clad tan robes like the armor he had arrived in, but he added blue with gold to pay respects to his master even his lightsaber which was a cross style hilt as he took favorably to the cross guarded saber handled and the boy now young man had a large scar resting across his face that was caused by his most recent mission to Dantooine.

This was Surik's first time seeing Jaune after the Mission to Dantooine, so she had not seen the scar up close yet. It was a bold diagonal cut across his face. The scar was a bit much, but it was still somewhat fresh, and needed time to heal a bit more. Though it did do a favor for the young Jedi, it made him look more like a man, than a wimpy teenager. Then again compared to when he arrived he had put on some muscle and matured quite tell.

"Ah, Artorika, Jaune," Surik smiled as she continued walking backward, smiling as she used the force to sense anything behind her.

"Master Surik, why are you walking backward?" Jaune asked puzzled by how Master Surik could be some times, she was a very interesting character for the Jedi, She could be weird and quirky at times, yet dead serious seconds later.

"Why not?" she said turning back around, giving her reason as she returned "I just wanted to see who addressed me,"

"Good, so you are heading to the knighting ceremony?" Jaune asked a question that should have been obvious.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it?" Meetra said feigning a smile

"So Meetra did you hear Malserik has apprentices?" Artorika spoke calmly as Surik knew the name of that man if the Jedi could hate or allowed to hate, anyone it was him. He became the main example of what the dark side could do to a Jedi though very few knew what sent him over the edge.

Apparently he found out his parents were unjustly killed by a recruiter and he went into a full blown rage and lust for revenge ripping most of the Sith holocrons from the archive and immersed himself in them and when he emerged he was changed. The things Meetra had heard, one being that he sliced open his master and single-handedly killed five other Masters with an unknown ability, then he stole a ship and found his way to the Sith who took him in as one of their own, begrudgingly.

As word would have it he took control of a city on Drommund Kaas and made it a tolerable place to live. He did take part in the sacking of Coruscant and he finally killed the master who killed his mother and father, and personally saw to the ends of numerous Jedi and Republic troopers during the attack, his actions that day got him the title of Darth under a Darth Imperious, a Sith the Jedi knew very little about. Malserik. they knew more about, though he had never taken any apprentices as he refused to apparently.

According to Artorika, Meetra faced Malserik when she returned in the Sacking of Coruscant. The Viridian Butcher, the Arch-Traitor, the exemplar of a fallen Jedi, were all titles various Jedi labeled him with. These titles were earned during his return to Coruscant in the sacking. He killed a lot of Jedi, easily almost one hundred. Meetra was one of the few to survive his attacks.

"He did?" Meetra asked disinterested, She really couldn't care less about gossip, considering Malserik was not of her concern

"I know you weren't here to meet him before, but he was my friend before he left," the blue-clad Master spoke calmly, lamenting the loss of her friend.

"I know Artorika you two were close, you've mentioned it before" Meetra responded with a playful tease, to keep up her cheery facade,"You still think there's good in him, so what about his apprentices?"

"They seem to be quite powerful from the report I got. The Dove and Raven of Hiskal, that's what the people of Hiskal call them," Artorika spoke with a neutral look on her face, reporting the news.

"Interesting, anything else?" Meetra asked still disinterested, but she acted like she was.

"Imperious has taken an interest in him and his apprentices," this caught Meetra's ear. Imperious was a dark council member and she was one of the most feared by the Jedi, not for her power but because of her motives or lack there of. The council only had a title and a face, not much else.

"Oh, that could be bad," Meetra replied bluntly, Imperious had a tendency to lead to bad news.

"Considering on image our spies acquired shows one of them looks like a spitting image of you," Artorika said in a joking manner, not realizing the land mine her foot just stepped on.

This got Meetra to stop, and her eyes went wide, "Do you have the image!?" she said panicking; Artorika had never seen this frantic behavior from Meetra.

"Yes I have it," she said not sure why her friend would act like that she brought it up on a holo projector to Meetra's ease nerves, to Meetra's surprise it was just a female that wears a white cloak.

"Damn it thought you meant you found someone that looked like me," Meetra sighed relieved it wasn't Ruby in the picture with the white and blue cloak.

"No why did that trouble you so much?" Artorika said puzzled at Surik's behavior.

"Nothing you need to worry about Artorika, I'll tell you at some other point, my friend," Meetra said as Jaune knew exactly what she was talking about.

"It's a child; you had a child on Remnant, didn't you?" Artorika spoke throwing a shot into the dark.

If cracks in her facade started to show it was now. She never intended to tell her friend about Ruby but she had to now as she had guessed it and her facade was falling apart,

"Yes I did, under the name of Summer Rose I had a child and as Jaune here knows she came through in that disturbance eight months ago," Surik explained to her friend, she knew immediately why her friend was so

"I understand, you had a family on Remnant, " Artorika spoke understanding what her friend was saying, Artorika was the only one Meetra trusted with even mentioning Remnant to, for the time Meetra hand been in this iteration of the Jedi Order she felt alienated at times though Artorika made a good friend.

"They are all in this galaxy somewhere now" Meetra spoke calmly, "please don't tell anyone about this, I'm already on a thin wire with the Council as it stands,"

"You have my word, Meetra, I will take your secret to the grave," Artorika said, as they approached the door to the main hall, normally knighting ceremonies would be private but with how many Padawans there was that were to be knighted, the Council made it an open ceremony to all Jedi.

Entering, the trio witnessed the first of the lost four being knighted. Blake had just finished speaking the Jedi Creed, when the three entered, they had just made it for Satele to sever the braid in her hair as Satele declared Blake to be a Jedi Shadow. The lost four were to be knighted in sequence. Next in the Sequence was Lie Ren, Who recited the Jedi creed before his master, then his padawan braid was severed as he was named a Jedi Consular. Jaune and Artorika were next, and they followed the same procedure, recite the creed then have his braid cut. He was dubbed a Jedi Guardian.

Surik smiled with each fallen braid, They had become Jedi. The applaud from all of the gathered Jedi made her heart flutter. She forgot all about the note from Revan as she was happy and proud of the newly knighted Jedi. Before long, she had to stand and go up with her Padawan, Yang was sitting the others of the lost four when it was her turn to be knighted.

The Master and Padawan usually walked together, though due to them not being seated together that was rendered Impossible. The other Jedi were silent, looking either at Yang or Surik, though most looked at Yang as they walked up to the stage. As they stood on the stage, silver eyes locked with lilac. Though the gaze was interrupted by the ignition of one of Surik's lightsabers.

"Yang Xiao Long," Surik spoke, her voice loud and clear, carrying all the way through the main hall. "Please, kneel and recited the Jedi Creed," Summer commanded of her step daughter who smiled as she kneeled started the creed.

"There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force." Yang said the creed with a hint of joy in her voice. She had become one of the heroes of justice and the light she was now a true Jedi. With the completion of the creed, the humming silver blade severed Yang's Padawan braid,

"Yang Xiao Long, you are here by named a Jedi Sentinel!" Summer announced loudly as the crowd of Jedi applauded, some less enthusiastic than the others, due to the controversy surrounding Yang. The rest of the ceremony was pretty much the same for all the rest of those being knighted.

* * *

After the ceremonies, the newly knighted Jedi were allowed to celebrate their success. In the dining hall the now Jedi knights were celebrating. The four Remnants decided to take seats at a four seat table, they were discussing how to find their friends and curious of the state on Remnant. Though it was at that point Jaune made a comment that shifted their discussion to Ruby,

"I wonder what Ruby will think of a lightsaber?" Jaune asked of no one in particular in the group though he did look at Yang.

"I figure she would enjoy them, considering she apparently she did start using a sword," Yang replied as her joy was seemingly sapped by the topic of her sister.

"Oh yeah that's right, you did mention that," Jaune smiled awkwardly as Blake and Ren, focused on Yang's distraught emotions.

"That is why I have a sword with me at all time," Yang explained through a frown as her mind started to worry about her sister. She never did mention how Ruby lost an arm to JR. Yang's inner turmoil sparked again, she had repressed most thoughts of her sister in public to avoid the anxiety she had over her. She feared about how she was doing, or what had happened to her. Tears began to flow as Yang put her face on the table. _Ruby where are you? I hope you're all right, I hope your arm situation got better. Damn it I wish I could see you again!_

As Yang's internal strife grew, the other three Jedi wanted to help, but they could not help her. Yang was their friend as was Ruby, but they couldn't tell Yang to forget about her sister. They watched as Yang dismissed herself and went to her quarters. Once there she slammed back on to her bed. Laying there she worried about all of the possibilities of Ruby's fate. The worst being that she was killed, but in close second was her joining the forces of darkness. The Sith, Yang still remembered her encounter with that lord. She almost gave into her own rage then. Her emotions were her number one enemy, everyone in the Jedi knew that.

As she laid there, she drifted into the embrace of slumber with one thought on her mind _I want to see you again Ruby_. As she slept her dreams morphed into something sinister. She saw Ruby, her sister, the girl she knew with her red cloak chained in front of her. Though like the last time she saw this scene eight months ago she saw a black-cloaked figure approaching, she could see glowing eyes, glowing in a shimmering gold. They looked down upon her sister. Like the last time, she was unable to move. She did not scream, she relaxed and decided to study the figure and her appearance. She could tell by the figure underneath the cloak she was a young woman, her clothing was black and red with gold accents.

Though as Yang tried to study this villain, she ignited her saber and impaled her sister through the heart with the blood red cross guarded saber. The look on her sister's face was horrifying, it was a mix of pain and horror. As the blade was withdrawn from her sister, Yang could feel her body unlock, she could move.

"NO!" she screamed out in denial she charged. Ripping the sabers off her belt she ignited their violet blades. As she lunged upward for an attack, she saw her blades get intercepted by the red blade as she landed. She swiftly felt a boot pummel her stomach. Then in one more swift move, she was sent back by a snappy force push hitting what felt like a stone wall. Stunned Yang looked at her opponent who looked down at her.

Yang felt her throat be constricted by the force as she was raised off the ground and into her opponent's hand. As she was being choked in what she could only assume was a Sith's hand, She lowered the hood on Yang's head.

It was at that moment Yang saw the Sith's golden eyes go wide, she could only see her eyes as her face was covered by either a bone like mask or shadows. As her eyes widened, she dropped Yang letting her fall to the floor. It was at this moment that woman was stunned at what she just saw and disappeared. Leaving Yang to ponder what she just saw.

* * *

While on Drommund Kaas, Ruby snapped up out of her sleep. Her eyes wide, in a cold sweat, she asked herself, _Was that Yang?_

* * *

 **A/N: Well this was an interesting thing to write considering I ripped the Tram mission from Jedi Knight Jedi Academy for the first bit for Yang's first mission. I personally love that game and said mission, so hey. I am not that happy with this Chapter as I wanted it to be shorter, but it ended up around 6.5 K. I kept the Lie Ren and Jaune's dreams though I edited them somewhat. As for Yang and Jaune I had them exempted from their Trials due to them having faced Sith. As for Blake and Lie Ren I figured Trials of combat endurance would be good enough as the Jedi wants war fighters. Lie Ren I figure would be the type of person who would go into to disarm his opponent rather than fight them. As for Blake she I think could last the time requirements.**

 **Well with that out of the way, apologies for taking so long on this chapter, Long week (Three Exams and a Paper due) with a mix of writer's block. The next chapter will be looking at Remnant and the situation there. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them. With that out of the way, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	14. Chapter 14: Evolution

**A/N well I know I said the next chapter would deal with Remnant, it didn't flow that well, So I altered the order. so here you guys go, Chapter 14: Evolution.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Evolution**

* * *

After she woke up, Ruby had to go take a shower to rinse the sweat off of her body. Her mind was going a mile a minute, _Was that really Yang? s_ he asked herself. With the appearance of Roman and Neo, She realized it is a possibility her friends could be here as well. The way she was dressed, the feeling she got off of her, it was one Ruby didn't like.

Leaning on the wall as shower poured warm water on her body, Ruby didn't want to think about what Yang looked like. _Yang, please don't tell me you became a what I think you did,_ Ruby thought as she heard a light knocking on the door outside followed by the concerned voice,

"Everything alright Ruby?" Weiss asked from outside.

"Yeah, I'll tell you when I get out," Ruby said as even muffled by the door Weiss's voice was soothing to her. Finishing up in the shower and putting on another set of her clothes she walked out to see Weiss at the table sipping on some freshly made tea. She even had a cup placed for Ruby.

"So, what was bothering you?" Weiss asked as she set down her cup and Ruby took a seat.

"I think I saw Yang in a Vision," Ruby explained. This explanation caused Weiss to raise an eyebrow as she thought Ruby would be overjoyed with the Idea of Yang. With that in mind, Weiss inquired,

"I thought you would be overjoyed at that idea of her being alive, what is the matter?" Weiss asked as Ruby prepared to admit what she saw. Sighing, Ruby informed Weiss about the duel with the Jedi in her vision.

Weiss was well aware of the implications of what Ruby was saying. If Yang had become a Jedi, she was to be their enemy. To Weiss this was a shocking potential they did not account for, if their friends ended up in this galaxy, they could become Jedi. They didn't know what to think on that issue. They both knew the Jedi were just as corrupt as the Republic and they were the ultimate enemy of the Sith. Though they had to quickly stow those thoughts away as their first day of independent training was to begin.

* * *

Ruby reported to the eastern training hall, while Weiss reported to the courtyard. In the courtyard, Malserik stood in his usual clothes and with Sturmkrieg in hand. The Viridian blade humming, as puffs of steam formed from snowflakes hitting the blade. He stood alone, awaiting his apprentice, as the door to the courtyard opened, he charged giving Weiss only seconds to react as he propelled himself with the force. Using both her speed and the force to accelerate, she dodged the attack and ignited her blue saber, and counter-attacked. With that, the two began their duel.

Weiss was keeping pace with Malserik, though she had to give it her all to do so. His attacks were quick a precise. She could tell he was targeting her joints, he was testing her. Their duel went on for about five minutes before Malserik ceased his attack and deactivated his blade.

"Good work, Weiss," Malserik smiled as he stowed his lightsaber, " I just wanted to see how you fared against me, It turns out quite well."

"Thank you, Malserik," Weiss said humbled by his opinion of that duel.

"Don't be mistaken, you still have much to learn," Malserik smiled, by the end of her training, he wanted Weiss to be able to go toe to toe with himself. As each day after that one, Malserik would push his apprentice even further.

* * *

In the training hall, waited something entirely different. Inside Ruby saw a Weiss held captive by masked Jedi. Ruby tried to feel her bond with Weiss but the sensation was blocked. Starting to worry, Ruby Yelled out,

"Ceres? What is this?" The air was still as the Jedi ignited his saber and Weiss responded with,

"Ruby! Help Me!" The fear in her eyes, the emotions on her face, they were genuine. Ruby was sure Weiss went to train with Viridian, but her she was in front of her. It was at that second the blue blade of the Jedi swooped down taking Weiss's head clean off.

Ruby's eyes shot open as she watched this, seeing the expression on Weiss's head scarred her, and her rage boiled over. White hot from her rage, she exploded forward, igniting her two red sabers. Her strikes on the Jedi were quick and merciless, accented by a loud scream of denial. The Jedi had no time to fight back, his body was eviscerated by Ruby's strikes. Turning around she saw Weiss's head fade into the head of a training droid, as did the body, looking back at the Jedi she saw the same, a training droid. As she turned back around she heard footsteps, behind her was Imperious.

With one force push fueled by unbridled rage and fury, She launched her new master into the wall with a significant deep reverberating thud. Before Imperious could respond Ruby had one of her lightsaber blades up to Imperious's throat. Clearing her throat, Ruby spoke,

"What the FUCK. Was that?" Ruby inquired, her voice low, her eyes glowing. Ruby made a point to restrain on swearing, but even those restraints had limits. Even pinned against the wall Imperious couldn't help but smile with her response.

"What that was, was me 'pulling out all the stops'," Imperious replied with a smug grin on her face as she continued, "You asked me last night not to hold back any punches, 'To pull out the stops.' So that is what I did, I wanted to show you what you could do when enraged."

With those words, spoken Ruby relented as she did ask for this. Releasing Imperious, she examined the destruction in full, After which her training continued.

* * *

Five months later, Ruby and Weiss returned from the fray once more, laying four lightsabers on his desk after dispatching another set of intruders into Hiskal.

"Very good ladies," Malserik said excitedly at Weiss and Ruby return and the gifts they brought. One of his hobbies was to critique the sabers they brought back. Looking at the sabers, they consisted of; one double bladed, two standard sabers, and a cross-hilted light saber. Malserik examined the sabers taking the first three in hand and stating,

"what happened to all the creativity we Sith had? If I were to guess, these sabers seem to be mass produced. Simply unacceptable." Malserik spat, each saber the girls brought him from an apprentice disappointed him more than the last. They were unrefined and crude far from the weapon of elegance they were. Though, the cross-shaped hilt was of much finer construction. The metal was actually finished properly, engravings and most important of all the design seemed made by hand. "This one is quite Magnificent," Malserik said standing up igniting the blaze red blade, as two offshoots ignited, forming cross-guard ignited after that. "Which one of you killed the Lord?"

"It was a joint effort," The now nineteen-year-old Weiss said calmly, "We agreed to split that kill."

"So who wants this as a trophy?" Malserik asked deactivating the saber and holding it to present it to one of the girl's?

"Ruby you dealt the killing blow you have it," Weiss said stating the truth, also she didn't feel the need to have a saber like that, Ruby was the one tinkering with lightsabers, not her.

"Well, then that's decided," Malserik said handing over the saber to Ruby who had a malicious smirk on her lips as she took the saber.

"I trust you two had no trouble?" Imperious spoke up, inquiring about the difficulty of their goal to eliminate a lord and his two apprentices that came to Hiskal to wreak havoc.

"For a combined kill count of fifty-seven, he was by no means the hardest," Ruby said with her Cheshire cat-like smirk as she clicked her trophy to her belt.

"That is good to hear, I wouldn't want you two to say you struggled with a lord when you two killed a Darth," Imperious smiled playfully at the two apprentices.

"You two are dismissed, also unless something comes up you two are free tomorrow," Malserik said as the girls walked out of the room.

* * *

Over the course of five months, Ruby and Weiss had changed a lot with their training. the now seventeen years old Ruby, who was normally a cheerful, happy girl had darkened. She took up a snarky cynical attitude next to her now rough personality. Her body morphed even further from the little girl she once was, looking more like a blossoming young woman. In combat, Ruby was quick to anger and now completely capable of slicing open an opponent with no hesitation. Despite this, she could still be kind and caring to her friends.

This radical shift was mostly caused by Ruby's training by Imperious. A training that was as innovative as it was horrifying, as Ruby learned on her first day. Imperious often used illusions to expose Ruby to the sights and horrors of war. Compared to they made that day look like a cake walk, She had seen things, she couldn't forget. Disguising the droids to look like Jedi or Sith depending on the lesson Imperious got Ruby used to the idea of taking life. She had mastered her rage and anger along with how to unleash them. Along with her emotional training, Imperious managed to coach Ruby how to carry herself and act. Dominant, assertive, snarky, cynical, and most importantly confident in herself.

During her, time with Imperious Ruby practiced with all of the forms of standard lightsaber combat. Imperious was impressed with how she fought, not preferring one style, instead, creating her own. Along with that Ruby learned not only to apply the force into her combat style but to apply acrobatics. Imperious told her to 'weaponize her entire body, make it so your opponent has to watch you just as much as your blade.' Ruby took this idea in strides if she saw an opening for her foot, elbow, and even her head and she wouldn't get that part sliced off doing it, she was going to do it. After that Imperious educated Ruby in the art of Jar'kai and Tràkata. Tràkata was a skill that required Ruby to embrace a cunning she never knew she had, deactivating her lightsaber to avoid a saber lock and avoid an enemy's parry, reigniting the blade in a way that would cause significant damage.

Imperious also taught Ruby in the skill of Dun Möch as Sith skill used to make her opponents fears her to weaken them. With that Imperious focused Ruby towards using force Illusions herself, her abilities were decent she was able to cloak herself and impart illusions on those of a weaker mind. Another more questionable lesson Ruby was taught was in the art of manipulation and seduction and intimidation were a few lessons among this pack of lessons Ruby was taught.

During this time Ruby learned how to use her force sight affinity, allowing her to read people even further, though Imperious told her this ability wasn't anywhere near fully developed. Lastly Imperious taught Ruby how to use her limited abilities in force lightning to charge her lightsaber blades. Imperious was quite saddened that Ruby could only conjure lightning with her left hand, as two hands increased its power exponentially. Despite this, in Imperious's mind, Ruby was forming into an excellent Sith, a woman who would be powerful.

* * *

Though in the same five months Weiss had changed as well, were to most she was a cold person before. She took it up again in leaps and bounds, still as easily angered and frustrated like she always had been but with her skills she gained pride and an ego, something she got from training with Malserik. She hated when her opponents were below her. So much so she laughed down at them if they were so far below her.

Weiss's skills with a blade were honed to a near master level, as she was capable of keeping up with Malserik in form two spars with ease. However, like Malserik she was lacking in one area, blaster deflection, though unlike Malserik her supercharged aura could take quite a few bolts before being depleted. Though with her force powers being as strong as they were, she could stop a blaster bolt mid-air if she so desired. Weiss as much as she loved the blade, found she was also very skilled with force lightning. she even created a technique where she could use glyphs to channel her lightning very long distances, up to a hundred meters if the need arose. She could also arc lightning in a dome around her body, and blast the lightning into a wave.

Weiss in this time experimented with here glyphs discovered her Lightsaber replaced Myrtenaster very well for controlling her glyphs and with it Dust. As the samples from the mine below Hiskal came up, Weiss and Malserik began running experiments with Dust.

Dubbed 'Elemental Reaction Crystal' by Malserik, the vein below Hiskal was rich with Dust of all elements. Something that shocked Weiss as she had examined Dust veins before, but this one was unique as it was so rich. The only dust they had yet to find was the cursed distortion dust.

Once they got more sample up to Hiskal, Weiss and Malserik started to perform experiments with the material. Their experiments consisted of testing to see if Malserik could manifest an Aura, which he could not, neither could Imperious, which puzzled Weiss, as Aura was the manifestation of the soul. Then Malserik had a theory, maybe Dust could be activated by the force. Much to Weiss's surprise, this worked, though the reaction was stunted and less powerful. They even worked out that dust could function with a lightsaber, giving the blade various elemental effects, all be it temporary. With this discovery, Weiss realized if she used her glyphs she could use the dust based attack like she did with Myrtenaster. This made Weiss smile as once again she could fight even more like she used to.

With these most recent developments, the duo was quite fierce in battle. Malserik himself hasn't had to deal with any threats from his rivals. As not only were the girls quite able to oust any attempts to attack Waldstahl, they were also able to eliminate any attempts to terrorize the people of Hiskal. Though even they didn't have to respond as of the sixty-two Sith to attack Hiskal, only fifty-seven Sith that needed to be eliminated by the Dove and Raven. The other five were easily eliminated by the second in command of the Hiskalan guard, Commander Roman Torchwick, and Agent Neopolitan. Their respective trainers taught them well. Roman becoming a brilliant tactician, while Neo became an assassin like sharpshooter. By the people of Hiskal, the four Remnants were well respected, though some feared them as most feared the Sith and their henchmen.

* * *

Back in the present, Ruby and Weiss walked down the familiar corridor as they walked back to their room. They were proud of today's work, as this mission was their most public display yet, as the Hiskalan Guard couldn't contain these and Ruby had to us force pushes and pulls to keep them from getting in the way or injured. Needless to say, the people of Hiskal cheered them on as they fought.

"So what do you want to do tomorrow Weiss?" Ruby asked her lover and partner as they walked down the halls of Waldstahl towards their room?

"I assumed you were going to stay here and fiddle with that lightsaber design you have been working on," Weiss responded with a hint of legitimate shock, that Ruby wasn't going to be sitting in the shadow's working on that lightsaber she was trying to design.

"It's not like I'm building it yet, I'm just making the blueprints," Ruby deadpanned at Weiss, Ruby knew no one would see her when she started constructing her new 'baby'"I mean we've been so split up in our training we haven't been able to do much."

"I know, it is as aggravating, as the training is interesting," Weiss frowned as their training had hindered their relationship. They had been separate so much during their training, only being able to link up at the end of the day.

"I know we could go to Kaas City tomorrow!" Ruby suggested slightly excited. From what Imperious told her, Kaas city is an interesting place and only took about an hour to fly to.

"That wouldn't be a good idea, with how many people know of us," Weiss said letting Ruby know the potential outcome, as the Dove and Raven of Hiskal had made Imperial headlines one or two times.

"It was just an idea," Ruby groaned, feeling shot down, she really wanted to go to Kaas city.

"I know, just with how many people are giving us grief, that would be a bad idea," Weiss spoke the truth.

"I know, why don't we go to that restaurant that Malserik told us about?" Ruby suggested her bright gold eyes linking with Weiss's mixed blue and silver eyes.

"That's not a bad Idea" Weiss smiled as they made it to their room. There they found a warm meal waiting for them along with freshly washed clothes and sheets. They had a long day and now it was time for the Dove and Raven to relax, and hopefully finally have a day to themselves tomorrow.

* * *

Back in Imperious's chamber, Imperious was contacted by an ally requesting her assistance.

"What is it, Velocitous?" Imperious inquired, curious of what this call could be about.

"The Tomb Witch that has been harassing the Academy. A Darth is rallying as many lords as they can get to kill her," the Chiss responded through the hologram.

"So what's your concern in the matter, let alone, why should I care?" Imperious inquired of her ally.

"You sent me the image of you and your apprentice a while back, take a look at this image," an image came up on the screen of the tomb witch. __well, the dark side has taken its toll on her,__ Imperious thought looking at the girl. That's when she noticed the belt, the red belt with the knife, one of Weiss and Ruby's signature parts of their outfit, it was identical. "You see the belt?" Velocitous inquired on the other end.

"Ruby mentioned there used to be four of them and they all wore that style of belt," Imperious said into the secured line. Pinging Ruby and Weiss's scrolls, devices Malserik modified to give them access to the imperial comms network along with holographic communications capabilities. The girls were in the other wing of Waldstahl so it would take them some time to get here. Imperious sat back in the bowl like chair as she said: "I will confer this with my apprentice along with Malserik's apprentice and they will be on the way as soon as possible if they know who it is, you have my word Velocitous." Imperious promised, terminating the call, She reclined, _So there are more than two of them, Interesting, very interesting._ Imperious had read reports of the chaos the Tomb Witch caused on Korriban.

* * *

Weiss and Ruby were shocked to see Pyrrha in the state she was in. In the image it showed what deep immersion could do if your body wasn't ready for it, her hair was loose and long, looking like some character from a horror movie. The faded to a light pink hair looked ill maintained. Her skin was white as paper. Her eyes showed an even greater immersion in the dark arts as they burned red with the dark side. Her lips and skin around her eyes darkened to an almost black color looking like natural makeup. There were numerous blood red markings adorning her body like tattoos, which according to the reports were painted with actual blood.

"We will go, Imperious" Weiss spoke with determination and conviction, with Ruby nodding with that statement.

"Yes, we know her, we could get her to join our cause," Ruby said with a smile, "Unless she's turned into a dark lord wannabe like ninety-five percent of the Sith we have fought."

"Well, we don't know much about how she works, other than really she doesn't like our Sith Empire that much," Imperious spoke calmly informing them of the situation. "So I don't think she views herself as 'a dark lord wannabe'"

"Well, she is our friend either way," Ruby spoke calmly, "We need to get to her; we will go to Korriban, as soon as possible" Ruby spoke confidently, making the decision.

"Well, then you're going to need a ship to get you to Korriban," Imperious said with a smirk riding up her face. "I've been working on badgering Malserik to give you a ship that would be excellent for you two."

"Wait, he got us a ship?!" Ruby inquired, wondering what type of ship it was, along with the fact Malserik actually got them a ship.

"Oh yes, Malserik started a project to develop a new ship that was a refitted and retrofitted Fury, but it turned into much more than that," Imperious smiled as she pinged Malserik's holo-comm a few times to wake him up.

"What is it Ceres?" Malserik groaned picking up the holo-comm, the sight of a sleep interrupted Malserik was amusing to the three ladies, as they saw he even slept with his eye patch on.

"Is the Whispering Specter ready?" Imperious asked calmly.

"Yes, it is, it was finished a few weeks ago did some atmospheric flights a few days ago. Why?" Malserik inquired about why Imperious would be curious of the status of the craft.

"Ruby and Weiss are going to Korriban," Imperious said calmly as it took a few seconds for it to tick in his head as he was barely awake, "Wait! why the hell are they going to Korriban!?"

"We found one of our teammates she's the tomb witch," Weiss answered her master disgusted at the name Pyrrha had been given by the Sith.

"Hanger Two B, I'll get the crew ready, and meet you three there," Malserik replied with a grumble as he terminated the holo-comm line.

* * *

In the tombs of Korriban, chanting could be heard echoing throughout as imperial regulars and acolytes corrupted by her power chanted her name," Noxcaedis, Noxcaedis, Noxcaedis," they sounded like recording on a loop. The reason they were chanting was their lady was fighting a Sith Lord that came to challenge her. Her skill with a retrosaber was impeccable, though the dark lord was holding his own against her. Up against the witch of the tombs, he cursed her with every swing of her saber, though, she was unaffected by any of his insults. Her face was stoic, she was calm yet fierce. _T_ _ _ruly, and this girl would make a fearsome Sith,__ the lord thought as he clashed his red blade on the unstable orange gold blade, sparks ignited when they connected, her blade was so unstable. Switching to guard saber mode she gained the used of her arm's full strength at her disposal, locking the blades she pushed it off to the side. Then she unleashed the decisive attack of the duel, a force assisted kick to the Sith's groin. The pain was unbearable as he curled up in a ball, his lightsaber out of reach.

"One of the oldest tricks in the book," She chuckled as he felt his throat contract as Noxcaedis gripped his throat with the force. As he was brought off the ground he was wishing this was a dream, he heard the slow patter of her bare feet on the stone floor of the temple. that's when he heard the "Shing" sound of her drawing the Sith sword out of her staff.

The sound of bone being destroyed as the Witch impaled the lord's chest with the blade. Shifting the blade in his chest, she destroyed his heart and blood flowed vigorously out of the pure blood's wound, coating the black blade of the sword in his blood. Squirming, the Pureblood's death came quickly as Noxcaedis removed the blade. Dropping the freshly extinguished corpse to the floor she ran her fingers on the flat of the Sith sword to paint another marking on her skin. Taking out a shard of a mirror she kept in her bag she applied the blood carefully to make a Grimm-like marking on her face.

She smiled as she applied the mark like paint with her finger. As she completed the mark she kneeled and tore a bolt off a black fabric of the pureblood's robes, to which she clean the blade of her sword of the Sith's blood. As she did this she did this mundane task the air was still to all but herself. The spirits of the Tomb erupted in a thunderous applause. To them, she was more of a Sith than the pure blood she killed, despite her having no Sith in her blood. Standing, she ordered her legion of minions,

"Fan out, search for any more false Sith!" Her voice was cold, treating her minions like machines. Walking back to her throne in the Tomb of Marka Ragnos, she thought _So this is to be my destiny, this is most amusing, for once in my life I hold power that is my own. Not by fame nor intimidation, I hold absolute power._ She lamented who she was before her time in the tombs, She viewed her past self as weak, always apologizing, always wanting someone to see who she truly was, here no one cares about 'Pyrrha Nikos,' minus her spirit mentors. Though if there was one thing she missed, it was her friends.

* * *

 **A/N To be completely honest I really couldn't think of additions to make to this chapter minus a few things, so I just did a few edits and I think it is quite good, and it's a shorter chapter. So I hope everyone enjoys this I know it isn't much but it's set up for the next chapters. With that out of the way next chapter will be of Remnant exclusively. Also, I wanted to offer a glimpse at how Malserik and Imperious train Weiss and Ruby, and I feel like I accomplished that.**

 **Now everyone Feel free to ask any questions if you have them or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. With that out of the way, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	15. Chapter 15: Remnant's Darkness

**A/N: Well first of with this Chapter I would Like to thank Robert Harrison for all of the help they gave me with editing this story before the rewrite, and for the intro to this chapter. Which was the intro to the original Chapter 4. With the thanks out of the way Chapter 15: Remnant's Darkness!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Remnant's Darkness**

* * *

 _Darkness, darkness, everywhere, and all the people do hide. Darkness, darkness, everywhere, without a light to provide._

* * *

The parody of an old poem rang in Ozpin's mind; the truth of it biting deep, clawing at his soul.

A year. It had been a full year since Amity Coliseum had been destroyed. The aftermath of that single event was incalculable. Darkness and despair had descended upon Remnant shortly thereafter. Grimm bayed at the gates of cities and ran rampant through the countryside, driven into a frenzy by the powerful emotions of their natural prey. As a result, Huntsmen and Huntresses the world over were pushing themselves past the point of exhaustion trying to stem the tide. And failing more often than not.

As if that wasn't bad enough; rather than helping matters, the common man was rioting _ _Rioting!__ over food and power rationing that had been enacted after the trade between the kingdoms began to falter. Ozpin could appreciate that they were hungry, so was he, and hated living in houses that only received power for a few hours each day, so did he. The alternative though was starvation in weeks rather than years or burning through the kingdom's strategic energy reserves and having the automated defenses go offline at a time when they were needed most.

Ozpin sat in the chair behind his desk, looking out the window. His eyes took in the night sky and the fractured moon that seemed to hang over the city. The lights in his office were off. Despite being a school, Beacon wasn't immune from the power rationing.

Though, its state as an institution of learning was questionable these days. Beacon, as a school, was probably finished. Ever since that day when so many of its students and faculty were lost in that awful explosion. Those that had survived were out there, fighting the good fight, earning their stripes in a different kind of school.

Ozpin hadn't been idle. He'd been out there, fighting and bleeding with rest, he was still Huntsman and he had a duty to safeguard the lives of the innocent, anyway, he could.

That thought brought a small, sad, smile to his face. It reminded him, painfully, a young silver-eyed girl. All she'd wanted was to help people, to be a good person who helped because it was the right thing to do.

 _ _Now… She's gone. Lost to us. Although…__ Ozpin turned back to his desk and the items spread out upon it. A Huntsman he may be but he was also an academic, which meant knowing when to fight smarter.

They were three items that been found following events at Amity Coliseum. One was a map the likes of which Ozpin had never seen. Sure he'd seen maps of Remnant, even star charts showing constellations but never one of an entire galaxy. With locations given in a language he had never seen before, with locations pointed at in the map but he could decipher nothing. The second was some sort of cube-shaped information storage device.

The amount of data it contained was almost staggering given its small size. Upon opening for the first time he gained knowledge on how to decipher the language on the map. with this new knowledge, the professor consulted map once more. this time he could read it, he saw the names of planets, their capital cities, and major trade routes. though one stood out among the rest Coruscant.

The third was an energy sword that had once belonged to Cinder Fall. When he was particularly tired, a small voice in Ozpin's mind had taken to calling the thing a 'Light Saber,' out of sheer ridiculousness.

As interesting as trying to wield the energy sword was or learning the best ways to get to "Coruscant," Ozpin had found the data cube to be the most interesting. He reached out to it, feathering his fingers over it. The hardest part had been accessing it. Once he had, though, the information on it had made him glad he'd been sitting at the time, as rapidly learning a language can be quite shocking to one's mind.

As it turned out, Summer Rose and Cinder Fall weren't the only dimensional travelers on Remnant. There was at least one other, the producer of the data cube. Her name wasn't included in the files anywhere that he could find, but it didn't need to be. There was a picture of her and that was enough.

She was a stunningly beautiful woman despite her severe expression; tall and slender, with waist-length platinum hair, and eyes that could have been made from chips of glacial ice. The most surprising thing, though, was that Ozpin knew her at a glance. Given who her husband was, most people would have recognized her. They'd met, Ozpin and this traveler, a handful of times over the last few decades and more recently both her daughters had been at Beacon. The younger daughter had even been a student at the time.

Ozpin pulled his hand away from the cube on his desk and turned back to the window. The sun hadn't even begun to peek over the horizon and he was waiting, anxiously, for the dawn.

He was scheduled to leave in the morning aboard a fast military airship bound for Atlas. While he hadn't been invited to the Schnee household in some time, he had business with the Lady of the manor… and Atris Schnee would see him, one way or another.

He stood, up packing the objects into a briefcase. he was a lone man in his tower. They were all gone, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, Peach, all of his staff and friends, gone in an instant. He had opened beacons door's to anyone who needed shelter, but the Grimm were being relentless, they had left very few refugees outside of the walls. Despite those fighting's best efforts, they were in dire straights.

Walking outside, Ozpin looked at the empty void of the sky that was left by the loss of Amity. The blast shattered windows and damaged structures in Vale directly underneath, due to the air blast caused by air filling the giant empty space. The blast also attracted the Grimm to flood Vale and all of the other kingdoms. Despite the damage done to the kingdoms, the CCT remained active, allowing the four kingdoms to coordinate and communicate. Ultimately the attacks on the four main Kingdom's were repelled.

After the loss of Amity, everyone that could fight was drafted into the defense of their kingdom, from children from Signal to the elderly all were expected to fight. The normally colorful society of Remnant had abandoned all colors for one color, the color of loss and grief, the night and darkness, Black. This color was chosen to honor those four knights that were lost in the destruction of Amity.

 _She wanted to be a hero, Now they are all Heroes_ Ozpin lamented internally as he walked down the quiet and abandoned courtyard. Everyone saw the reports and watched them in action. The Black Knights became a light in the darkness and inspiration for many of those younger Huntsmen and Huntresses on Remnant along with those touched by their story. Black cloaks became quite popular and their wearers took on the title of Black Knights. Some even going as far to recolor their gear black, while some went even as far to get replicate their armor.

Ozpin himself even took up a black trench coat, his appearance looked scrappy due to the lack of a razor for shaving. Walking along with his briefcase and cane, he watched the Bullhead land on the airship dock. He was to take the Bullhead to the airship dock in the city as it had vital supplies to offload into Vale from Atlas. Flying above the city, he could watch the sun dawn on the war-torn city. The bull head was flying low to remain in the defense networks range and to make a crash more survivable.

With each sunrise, Ozpin sighed. They had survived another day in the war against the Grimm's onslaught. He saw the Airship in the dock, With Ironwood gone, Atlas wanted to make up for its shortcomings in the Amity crisis. Ozpin was both saddened by Ironwoods disappearance, but he was glad, as Atlas's Military had proven critical in the Resistance against the Grimm, and under Ironwood he feared they would not have helped. Right now Atlas's military was under the command of Jaques Schnee's brother Nacht.

Unlike Ironwood, Nacht understood the situation to the fullest. Despite his very anti-Faunus views, he was quite the leader. He respected Ozpin, unlike Ironwood, or Jaques Schnee. Nacht didn't agree with how Ozpin assisted Weiss, but there wasn't anything he could have done, as he told his brother 'Weiss is an adult if she wants out she is going to get out.' That was something Ozpin couldn't understand about Ironwood, is why he betrayed what they stood for. He singlehandedly allowed this to happen. To reference a song, Ozpin knew, Ironwood was the 'the man who sold the world.'

As Ozpin's bull head touched down at the Airship dock, he saw a squad of Black Knight Huntsmen that had just returned from battle. They were beaten and weary, they needed rest, though so did the rest of Remnant. He got out of the bullhead thanking the pilot as he disembarked. As soon as he was off the team he noted before embarked onto the bullhead and took off swiftly. With his briefcase and cane, he walked up to the airship dock. Machines were busy unloading the critical supplies Vale needed to continue the fight.

"Professor Ozpin," A voice said from his left as he approached the ship, glancing over he saw a man clad in the White Atlesian military uniform, though over his uniform was a black Schnee Dust Company long coat, marked with the logo of SDC Security. Unlike all the other Schnee's this man had black hair that was black as night.

"Ah Nacht, I did not expect to see you," Ozpin admitted setting the briefcase down to shake Nacht's hand. The man's grip was firm as he said,

"I am here to oversee the first test of Project Gateway," He explained calmly. This shocked Ozpin as Project Gateway was just a theory, though after the loss of Amity it was a theory Ozpin himself took great interest in. Apparently, the project had been completed and was ready to be tested.

"Are you sure it is ready?" Ozpin asked, just to make sure.

"It is we are moving it to the Beacon Vault as that is the most secure place near the Amity blast zone we can think of," Nacht explained, his face told Ozpin that he was banking on this project. They needed help from this 'Galaxy' to defeat the Grimm. "The only issue is we only have enough Distortion dust for one try, so we need some who can get us the help we need to go through," Nacht explained, to Ozpin who looked deep in thought, though when Ozpin responded to this news he spoke with absolute conviction.

"I will volunteer."

* * *

After project gateway was unloaded and put into a cargo bullhead, Ozpin boarded the Airship and shortly after it departed. The high-speed flight took him high above the clouds. Within a few hours, he was no longer over the ocean, he was now in Atlas. As the airship started to slow and eventually dock, He was in the main airship dock for the Atlesian Military in the Atlesian mountains. Despite its military usage, the structure was stark white, then again so was most of Atlas's buildings. As he disembarked from the airship a masked soldier guided him to the bullhead he would be taking him to White Castle.

The flight was calm, though after passing a few mountains he could see the gleaming white structure. It was a fortress, recently outfitted with more defense cannons and security to keep the Grimm out. Originally this meeting was not to happen by Jaques's command, but Atris overruled him, she wanted to meet Ozpin in person. The structure of the castle was grand, even grander inside. Upon his entrance, he was greeted by a jovial butler who immediately informed him that,

"Lady Schnee will see you now, Ozpin," a butler named Klein announced to Ozpin as he walked out of one of the many rooms of White Castle. The butler escorted Ozpin through the cold, white icy interior of the castle. The snow outside was harsh as he looked out the windows, eclipsing the sun that he longed so much for each day. Carrying on, Ozpin was lead to a room where it was warm and serene almost like a meditation room complete with a Zen Garden, and various other decorations some looking very different to anything he had ever seen on Remnant.

Sitting in the center of the Room was Atris Schnee, though something looked off about the woman. As she stood, he noted what was off, Atris was pregnant. Despite her age approaching the forties, The SDC had the heir apparent but what could be guessed was Jaques wanted a backup, of as both of their daughters were involved in the Amity incident, and thus lost. Now Whitley was the Heir and was being trained hard for his new role.

"Professor Ozpin" Atris greeted her guest pleasantly, "I must apologize for my Husband's rash behavior, he was just upset at how you supported Weiss," Ozpin knew upset was an understatement, but after a while and a standoff, Jaques had backed down.

"If I may say, congratulations," Ozpin smiled faintly as she gestured for him to take a seat at a nearby table. Once seated she asked

"You weren't clear on your intentions of why you wanted to see me, professor. What is it that you want?" her voice was pleasant, Ozpin had dealt with her before, she was always pleasant, though he probably figured it for a facade.

"I am here Atris to see what you can tell me about these three Items" Ozpin replied as he laid the briefcase on the table opening it, exposing the three items inside. Atris immediately recognized two of the three items; one was a Holocron, one she had made, the other a lightsaber that had a dark side aura emanating from it, the other looked like a holo-projector with a large data storage device on it.

"So I see you found out who I was, most interesting Ozpin," she responded, never once thinking she would have ever seen her Holocron again. Though she knew dark times were ahead as they were heralded by the Red blades at Amity, "I take it this is all that remains of Amity?" she asked figuring another force sensitive found her Holocron.

"Correct," Ozpin nodded, though before he could continue, Atris asked a question Ozpin did not expect.

"Now, since you know who I was, I am quite curious where did my daughter and her team learn to use the force and arm themselves with Lightsabers?" Atris asked quite concerned on how they did that.

"I have no idea, I had never seen weapons like that before, as for the force what is that?" Ozpin asked he had heard of it from Summer, but that was the extent of his knowledge. "The other reason I am here is I plan to go into that galaxy to find my students, so I need to know what to expect."

"Well then, where to begin," Atris smiled as Ozpin gave off the signals of a man that wanted to redeem himself.

* * *

One month later in the vaults under Beacon, Project Gateway was fully ready to be tested. Ozpin steeled himself mentally for what he must do. His cane modified to turn it into a disguised lightsaber and he kept black trench coat on, along with some new gloves. Though the most distinct change was his glasses, he took up a pair of black tinted sports sunglasses replacing his small circular ones. He tried to calculate where he would want to land using Project Gateway's distortion field generator.

Atris gave him a crash course in the use of the force mainly to defend himself though in that lesson he learned a disturbing fact, All Remnant's were force sensitive, just Remnant blocked the force unless they learned from either a master or had prior knowledge of it to use it. Thusly he was also trained in the art of the blade, though his skills with the lightsaber were basic. He needed to find his students before remnant Rell apart. Standing on the platform, Nacht's team activated it knowing full well the device could kill him and that it was a one-way trip unless he could find a way back, which according to Atris there was a way to get back using the force. For the sake of Remnant, he had to do this. he was a man both lost and nothing to lose now, in a flash of light he was immersed in the vortex.

* * *

Ozpin felt calm as the vortex swirled around him, it was slightly soothing to his mind. He smiled when he walked out on the other side. The place he arrived in was dark and eerie and the gravity felt weird. He knew from Atris's description he was not on Coruscant.

Looking out a nearby window all he could see was stars, nothing but stars, no atmosphere to impede the lights of the galaxy. Moving on Ozpin noted the light rumbles of machinery through the structure. approaching a door he pressed a button on it to get it to slide open granting him access to another room, a large chamber almost. Surrounded by darkness Ozpin saw a figure kneeling in meditation. In a split second, the figure bolted up with a purple lightsaber blade in hand. Ozpin prepared drawing his saber off his cane, unignited and using his semblance, he slowed time around him side stepping the incoming attack. The dark clad figure missed his lunge not sure how the man did this he latched his throat using the force. Ozpin grunted using a basic force push to disrupt the choke. Distorting time Ozpin dodged his retaliation. In that dodge Ozpin spotted the Red mask he wore, Summer mentioned a man who wore a red mask as a symbol of who he was. Ozpin put up his hand in a gesture of peace as if this was Revan he would stop. Revan stopped but just barely the blade of the purple saber was only millimeters from his neck.

"You must be Revan," Ozpin suggested coolly, trying not to get his head cut off.

"Most everyone knows who I am," He growled at Ozpin, as that was a fact, most everyone knew of Revan.

"Does the name Summer Rose mean anything to you?" Ozpin asked before Revan continued, this caused Revan to hiss and lurched his blade very close to Ozpin's neck.

"To know that name you must know Meetra or as she liked to call herself, Summer Rose." Revan hissed one twitch of Revan's wrist and Ozpin would be without a head.

"I did, do you know where she is?" Ozpin asked calmly hoping Revan would help him.

"If you are from that damned planet, let me tell you a few things about that whore," Revan growled taking his mask off to reveal his very scarred face and his golden eyes.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was this chapter, I didn't have much to put into it as this chapter wasn't meant to be that long as Ozpin is one of the few characters left on Remnant, and there isn't much that I felt like needed explaining her, so I decided to prepare a few things for later in the story and leave it at that. Those things being the Black Knights of PRWN are heroes on Remnant now, and there is another Schnee on the way. As for what effects this will have on the plot will be seen later when Remnant comes back into the picture, which won't be for a while!**

 **Now with that feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. With that out of the way, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you! (and ENJOY V4 of RWBY!)**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	16. Chapter 16: Welcome to Korriban

**A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but Ignoring that here is Chapter 16: Welcome to Korriban!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Welcome to Korriban**

* * *

Back in the hangers of Waldstahl, the girl's eyes were wide as they stared at the ship in front of them, it was massive. Apparently, it started life as a Fury-class interceptor, but Ruby and Weiss had seen and been on one of those as Imperious had brought hers with her. This one was sleek, tt was much more elegant as the hull looked like smooth obsidian colored panels. The cockpit was more extended from the hull in a more conical shaped that was designed to allow more access to the cockpit, along with a better view. Malserik called the ship a masterful hybrid between a Fury and a Phantom, as it gave the best of both ships with few of the drawbacks. Along with carrying a vast arsenal of equipment and technology that he engineered and installed.

Prior to the girls even seeing the ship, Malserik gave an hour-long presentation about its features. Jamming Fields, Heavy laser turrets on the top and bottom, advanced weapon systems, two Aurek-class strike fighters and other various modifications that made this ship one of the most cutting edge ships the Empire had and it didn't even know about it.

Imperious herself was quite impressed with how Malserik managed to complete such a ship, even though he most likely would have never used it. Though it was a great ship to prove to be a proof of concept. Looking at the ship Weiss's eyes were wide with shock, Ruby's shocked look morphed into one of a Cheshire grin at the fact this Ship was to be theirs. Though one person who peaked out of the ship had to comment on the look on Ruby's face.

"Hey, Red you may want to stop smirking like that. Neo might start taking a liking to you," Torchwick jested as he walked down the stepped ramp at the rear of the ship. Clad in his Hiskalan Guard uniform. The suave criminal no longer wore his bowler cap that was replaced with a beret, he stopped applying his make up and put an eye patch over his useless right eye. His cane was long gone and had been replaced by a custom blaster pistol that he called 'The Commissar,' strapped to his thigh.

"What's he doing there?" Ruby inquired with a hiss as she got angry at being called 'Red', while Weiss too was concerned why Roman was on the ship as she gestured to the annoying officer.

"I thought it would do good to have you four work together on your missions," Malserik replied honestly, though Malserik knew this was going to aggravate them. He quite liked Commander Torchwick, his lack of a professional attitude was quite a change of pace.

"So Neo is on there too?" Weiss asked calmly. Unlike her orange haired counterpart, She was tolerable and polite.

"Correct," Malserik faintly smiled, being thankful he planned for them to be crew on this ship and taught the non-Sith duo how to fly it.

"Ruby, Weiss, this ship will be your one of your aces in the hole against our enemies," Imperious announced as she put her hands on the apprentice's shoulders.

"Yes this was originally going to be my ship but I was convinced I am needed here in Hiskal," Malserik said calmly though he shot an aggravated glare at Imperious, "so this will be your ship, though return here after you have either recruited or killed the Korriban Tomb Witch."

"Her name is Pyrrha!" Weiss exclaimed with a growl, tired of hearing their friend referred to as a 'tomb witch.'

"Well then, bring her back so I can call her by her real name," Malserik replied calmly, though it was evident by the undertone of his voice, he was angry.

"Your contacts will be a Darths Velocitous and Volitika," Imperious explained, excited for her apprentices first mission not on Drommund Kaas, " Velocitous should be the one who stands out the most as he is a Chiss and he is expecting your arrivals so get going," Imperious smiled as they bolted into the ship and Torchwick grumbled something as he raised up the ramp.

* * *

Inside, the girls were shocked at the sleek interior that was like that of the fury just sleeked down nowhere near as sharp and contained the same aesthetic style of Waldstahl. Roman walked forward toward the cockpit as Ruby and Weiss made the decision to follow them to the cockpit, where Neo was sitting in one of the pilot seats. The cockpit was filled with computers and various other gadget related to the advanced functions of the ship.

"Welcome aboard, my ladies," Neo spoke in her new imperial accented voice.

"See, she shows us respect Roman," Weiss huffed critical of Roman's lack of respect.

"Well let's put it this way you didn't kill me yet Ice Queen," Roman smiled as he taunted Weiss though he felt a nice thorough pressure on his throat from that remark, though it wasn't from Weiss it was from Red, who was holding up her gauntleted hand grasping Romans throat with the force.

"What did I say about the damn nicknames, Roman?" Ruby growled at her captive.

"Do-n't use th-em," Roman struggled to say as Ruby continued to clench his throat using the force.

"Good, see to it you remember that this time" Ruby hissed in a way that scared Roman as Cinder did use the same ability on him before though cinder held him till he was about to pass out, Ruby only held him till her point was made. __Damn, I hate how she can do that,__ Roman cursed in his head "Yeah I know you do," Ruby stabbed using her reading ability on Roman, who grumbled about that.

"Ruby, you scare me sometimes," Weiss stated bluntly as she knew Ruby had low tolerances for stupidity and other things now but she had only used choking one other time for intimidation, and that was when a scumbag drunk imperial regular that came to hit on Weiss while they were in Hiskal on a date. It was at times like this Weiss realized how much Ruby had changed.

"Hey, he shouldn't call me Red then," Ruby stated bluntly as she took a seat in the chair overlooking the pilot pit. Sitting down in a way that exuded ownership and confidence.

"I will agree I hate being called 'Ice Queen' by that clown," Weiss admitted with a smirk as roman groaned,

"I'm still here, ladies." Roman groaned annoyed, as he rubbed his now sore throat.

"We know," they responded at the same time.

"We just like to piss you off," Ruby continued with a snarky extension and a slight content smirk.

"So we are going to Korriban?" Neo asked as she brought up the galaxy map, thus terminating the annoying conversation. She knew Roman was pushing his luck trying to get under their skin like that. She knew if he pushed the wrong buttons, he could end up injured or worse.

"Yes," they both responded. With that cleared Neo began operating the controls and the ship hummed to life. Roman quickly followed suit, helping pilot the ship. Within a minute, the ship was off the ground and darting out of the hanger.

* * *

Outside the ship Malserik and Imperious watched the ship lift off the floor of the hanger, its landing gear retracting, engines flaring red as the ship roared out of the hanger and up into the void. The sound was deafening, though

"You could say I'm angry right now, Ceres," Malserik spoke, his voice solemn, "but part of me is proud."

"You're angry at the loss of a ship project I funded, remember," Imperious smiled, reminding Malserik she funded the Whispering Specter, "though, I can feel proud of them myself Malserik," Imperious hung her head slightly. "If they pull this off I am going to name them Lords, and then I want you to help them build their own sabers."

"Really, I didn't think Ruby had a design," Malserik said slightly surprised as over the five months he barely dealt with Ruby. Even during her tutelage under him, he was more hands off with her training.

"She's got a design that would make SturmKreig jealous," Imperious said in a way to tease Malserik, "I want you to get her and Weiss the finest Materials you have," Imperious said calmly as Malserik knew what she meant by 'fine materials," she meant materials from his collection.

"Let me guess you have something in mind for the girls as well?" Malserik inquired to make sure he wasn't the only one putting resources on the line for these girls.

"Trust me I've been working on something for them," Imperious smirked, a look Malserik knew meant trouble.

"You have been designing outfits again haven't you?" Malserik asked teasingly, knowing his superior's hobby.

"Hey you still have that outfit I made for you, you know, I want to see you wear it someday," Imperious smiled, she really wanted to see him in said outfit, but alas, Malserik would probably never wear it. Malserik had his science, technology, and engineering, stuff Imperious knew she couldn't do. Though it was known Imperious was a bit of a nut for clothing. She loved how her clothes could make her the center of attention in the dark council, not for how elaborate they were, but how simple yet elegant they were.

* * *

On the distant desert would of Tatooine another battle was coming to fruition. Reports of the Sand People War Maiden had reached the Jedi. the sand was course under his boots, his robes where traditional tans and whites. For a freshly made knight of five months, Edrik was sure he could handle the situation; of all the controversy of the Jedi he drew a lot of it as he was Pureblood Sith, though unlike his fellow people he felt the call of the light, after he was awoken to its call by master Surik.

The Jedi suspected it was just a female sand person that found out they were force sensitive and pulled a lightsaber off of some old relics of bygone eras. Though some had theories she could be something else entirely. The locals knew where her 'camp' was located. Though they told the Pureblood Jedi calling it a camp was a massive disrespect, it was a like a city. No motley gang of settlers or miners with blasters could take on the Night Raiders. So the settlers of Tatooine called for Jedi assistance from the local Jedi stationed on Tatooine. None of them were, sadly, seen again. That was why Edrik was there.

From afar Edrik could see the night raiders camp, it was massive, lots of small tents with a large fortress made out of a dead greater krayt dragon. He now knew this wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

This was the four's first time actually going through hyperspace, it was beautiful in a strange way, the flow of the blue vortex around their ship. Ruby was in awe of this powerful machine, the hum of the hyperdrive ran throughout the ship. It was a pleasant sound Ruby enjoyed. Weiss liked the idea of space travel though wasn't fully comfortable with the idea due to all of the risks involved.

Though half way through the flight Ruby and Weiss began to explore the ship for what it was worth, the Captain's quarters were very nicely decorated with a nice desk Weiss and Ruby could do work on. The bed was massive almost made them curious if either Malserik just liked a large bed, or did he plan on sharing it with someone but the added confusion came when they saw the other two bunks shoved in the room's wall as if for guests or guards. The main lounge was nice and comfortably decorated and had seating for a large amount of people and even had a game table. The center of the room was divided by a tube merged into the large top and bottom turret controls. Due to this, the holo terminal was in an alcove in the wall against cockpit wall.

The layout was altered from the standard Fury. The workshop in the room past the cargo bay and a hanger with two modified Aurek fighters just past the conference room were just two of the changes Maslerik made. This definitely wasn't a standard fury class any as indicated also by the additional bunks Malserik added to the ship. Malserik designed this ship to be a mobile operations center. That's when they heard the hyperdrive disengaged and they heard the normal engines roar to life. Hearing this they returned to the cockpit.

"Unidentified Vessel, Identify yourself!" A transmission blurted through Neo's console, to which she rolled her eyes.

"This is Imperial test vessel W-S-Zero-Zero-One, Whispering Specter, Clearance for landing should have been authorized by Darth Velocitous," Neo responded calmly as Ruby and Weiss watched as they approached at the desert world.

"Ah, yes, we see his authorization, W-S-Zero-Zero-One, proceed to pad five four." The traffic controller responded.

"Proceeding," Neo answered as they darted through the atmosphere, this ship was fast Neo gave it that. She saw fifty-four as she skimmed the valley, where they were located. Burning the engines she rotated the ship around so the rear ramp faced the entrance to the landing pad.

* * *

On the ground two Darth's watched the ship coming down on saying "Holy Shit! Malserik you outdid yourself," The armored Sith spoke wide eyed as she saw the ships landing gear extend and touched down. The obsidian black hull gleaming in the sunlight of Korriban's star. Watching this as well the Chiss Darth smiled and replied with,

"Things like this are no surprise if you have known Malserik for as long as I have," the Chiss responded to his Mandalorian friend's comment. Malserik had a reputation among Imperious's group of being a master of technology and engineering, though the empire at large mostly ignored some of the remarkable advancement's he made.

"What is he, some mad scientist that lives in a castle on top of a mountain?" Volitika jested as Velocitous chuckled as that is basically what Malserik is. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, you just nailed it on the head, that is Malserik," the Chiss laughed as the landing gear of the landing ship hissed out as it took the weight of the ship.

"Wow really?" Volitika inquired not sure if the Chiss was joking. With a glance at his face, she could tell he was serious, as one of the newest members of the order Volitika was still unfamiliar with some of the more veteran members of the order "I knew Imperious was a clothes nut, but damn we have a mad scientist too?"

"Yes," Velocitous said composing himself as the ramp on the ship lowered. The sight of the cloaks of black and white immediately gave away their identities of the Dove and Raven of Hiskal. the Chiss smiled seeing them with their hoods up as they approached. The Chiss couldn't see their faces due to the peaked hoods.

"Darth Velocitous?" the Raven, who Velocitous knew to be Ruby asked. He could tell from the images that he got from Imperious she was young, but only seeing her in person did he realize she wasn't even an adult by imperial standards. Though from the what he heard she didn't have to be an adult, she was still a skilled Sith.

"I take it that one is Darth Volitika?" The Dove asked gesturing to the armored Sith. Velocitous could tell by the way she carried herself she was Malserik's apprentice.

"That is correct, Dove," She replied aggravated, _did they not show them what we look like?_ She asked herself, it was at this point the Raven gave off a very unnerving presence like she was looking through her and her counterpart to see the truth. After her gaze was averted, the Raven gave a gesture to her counterpart.

"So I take it you are Viridian's and Ceres's apprentices?" The Chiss asked calmly, returning to business. Ignoring the feeling that the raven gave off, he smiled at them.

"That would be us," Ruby Responded, her voice sounding notably more cheerful than before.

"Good to hear," Velocitous said calmly. "Come inside, we will brief you on the situation over some tea," finishing his sentence with a smile. The ship behind them took off again, Malserik's orders, 'never touch down longer than needed.'

The duo and the Darth's walked into the immense structure that was the Sith academy. It was an impressive sight for the girls as other acolytes looked at them with fear. Most of them knew of the Dove and Raven of Hiskal, as they had cut down numerous apprentices. Seeing them on Korriban was something completely unexpected by those that heard of them, but none could mistake their cloaks. Ruby and Weiss both noted many of the acolytes didn't even have lightsabers yet. The acolytes knew any attempt against them would be suicide, though the looks they were giving the two knights was one of pure menace. After about five minutes of walking, they found their way to Velocitous office. Where he began to brief the girls on the situation.

* * *

Back on Tatooine, Edrik was carving his way through the sand people's camp. They left him no choice. They attacked him as he approached their camp. He pushed many away but they kept coming, he felt no remorse, only peace. He wished these people didn't choose such a dark path. Their weapons were useless against a lightsaber. He cut down many sand people carving a path to the War Maiden's throne, though once he managed to get within a few meters of her fortress, he heard a booming cry from a sand person female, whom he assumed was the war maiden. This cry caused all of the night raiders to back off and clear an alley through the crowd as it parted to make way for the war maiden. Who walked through it with her pike in hand. She stopped before him and raised a hand causing the sand people to back off.

"Do you speak basic?" Edrik asked at the approaching woman. He could tell she was smiling as she approached. Looking at her figure, The Jedi could tell she wasn't a Sand person, she was human. As she stopped in front of him, he could see the insanity behind her mask, her eyes wide, horrifying grin and that glint in her eyes that reflected her mental state. He knew this look from some of his own people, the Sith.

"I do, do you speak sloth!?" She asked with an insane cheer to her voice. She said chucking her pike up into the air randomly, only to catch it.

"You know I could help you," the youthful pureblood Jedi proclaimed calmly.

"Tell me, do you know how much force it takes to break a femur?" she asked with the same insane cheer to her voice.

"No?" he said slightly distraught by the question.

"Let's find out!" she cheered, igniting her pink lightsaber pike as she darted forward. The Jedi parried her strike as she retracted the pike and thrust it forth again though the Jedi saw sparks flying up her body, she was using force lightning on herself. This caused the Jedi to raise an eyebrow, but then he noted, doing this the girl's strength grew immensely with each parried strike. He also noticed a massive increase in speed and recklessness.

She spun the pike through the air like it was nothing. The blade was a pink hurricane-like assault, slice from the left, loop around to hit to the right, retract, thrust, overhead spin, hit the ground with the blade. Her skills with the pike were amazing. Her strikes seemed to be driven by insanity unlike anything he had seen and this horrified the young Jedi Knight.

Her movements were erratic and unpredictable, he could barely keep up with how she was moving. Her movement also seemed to be riddled with taunting; either that or she was completely insane. Cheering with each strike, under the red lenses of her monstrous mask, he could see her eyes were wide with a spark of insanity. __Who was this girl?__ Edrik asked himself. She was no Sith but she wasn't a sand person. He landed a hit only for it to bounce off a pink colored field that engulfed her body. He realized this was like the field those other four Jedi had.

He had to shift priorities, his main target was the shaft of her lightsaber pike. If he could disarm her maybe she would be able to be reasoned with. Though that's when she managed to get a stab in on the Jedi with the flanged spike end of the pike. Her followers started cheering like the battle was over from that one blow. It was far from over the Jedi pushed on the offense as he realized his movements were becoming sluggish as a dull numbed pain crept up his body. That's when one of his legs gave out causing him to fall.

"Oh feeling the poison, Good!" the insane woman cheered as she ripped the lightsaber from his hand with the force. "Now then let's make a sloth out of you!" she said taking up a gaffi stick and slamming the heavy weighted end on his left femur snapping it like a twig, then the other. The Jedi screamed in pain at the fractures. That's when the war maiden said something in the sand people's language. He couldn't understand what she said but it wasn't good for him as the sand people began to haul him away every raider hitting him with their gaffi sticks as he was drug on the ground.

* * *

Back on Korriban, the duo had been briefed on the situation in the valley of dark lords, Ruby wasn't one much for Tea, but Velocitous made some really good tea. Velocitous seemed to be the pleasantries along with business type of person. Though Volitika seemed to be the type that just wanted to get out there and fight by the way she was kicking the wall and looking around. She was either paranoid or she wanted something to attack. From the feeling Ruby got off of her, it was a mix of both. Despite her discomfort, she stayed in the room, though she grew more anxious with each passing second.

Weiss did most of the talking, as she connected with the gentlemanly Sith. Though after ten minutes of sipping tea and discussing the situation, It became evident that that Velocitous was in no hurry and was seemingly enjoying the conversation. Weiss quickly became annoyed by this and asked,

"So when do we leave for the tombs?" Weiss asked with a calm facade, taking the last sip of her tea. She was starting to get impatient with this relaxed discussion. Though, when Weiss is starting to lose her patience, Ruby had long lost hers. Her fidgeting had evolved into foot tapping, the into checking over her kit. She was even tempted to go join Volitika in a round of kick the wall so time seemingly goes faster.

"You may leave now if you so desire," Velocitous replied calmly setting down his tea and standing up. With this statement, the two apprentices sighed with relief, though Volitika had to express her frustration with her counterpart.

"Finally!" Volitika groaned in exasperation, "Damn Dyekar you could kill your enemies by boring them to death!" Volitika continued with a long winded statement giving Velocitous's real name in the process, something the two apprentices noted.

"Well at least I can be civil, unlike you Revecca," He quipped back at the Mandalorian, hissing her real name, "Imperious also said you two are to go with our apprentices as our appearance would tip our enemies off a little too much right now,"

"You ass! You said we would be going with them!" Volitika yelled at her blue skinned counterpart. The next words exploded from her lips in a very hostile rant. "Damn it, you drag me through this long ass tea party with a promise of a good bloodletting, and then you tell me Imperious said for us to stay the hell back!"

"Well this just got awkward," Ruby spoke here eyes wide, as she saw a smug smirk on Velocitous's face, something told Ruby he liked to mess with Volitika.

"That it did," Weiss nodded in agreement.

"You will find as skiff to take you to the valley, our apprentices will be there waiting for you," Velocitous said as the girls walked out of the room as Volitika unleashed vocal hell on the Chiss. As they walked out the door, they saw standing outside were two acolytes with their practice swords drawn. The fear they had was pathetic.

Weiss took offense at just the sight of these two, teenagers one male zeltron, one female togruta. __Really they send us children CHILDREN! No wonder the lords we have faced were so week they don't want to get their hands dirty.__ With her inner tantrum out of the way, Weiss picked them up with force grip and slammed them into the walls knocking them unconscious instantly. The wall they hit was dented and the acolytes fell to the ground with a satisfying thud.

Ruby laughed as they fell to the ground. She loved it when Weiss got angry and showed off her power. Back on Remnant Weiss's anger normal frightened her, but now it was something she loved when it wasn't directed at her. With that thought in mind

"Damn! Not even gonna give them a chance!" Ruby burst out laughing, "that's the Weiss I know and love!" Ruby smiled as Ruby ignited her blade to finish off the unconscious acolytes, but Weiss stopped her with a hand on the shoulder.

After Ruby retracted her blade, The two masters behind them must have heard the commotion as they walked out of the office and looked at the acolytes. They quickly dismissed the girls with a simple gesture. As they did Weiss began her rant

"Cowards, they are all cowards!" Weiss growled as they continued walking "They won't even come fight us in person. Oh no, they just send us their trash they can't be bothered to take care of themselves," Weiss ranted as Ruby smiled at her partner's anger and frustration.

"Who would want to? When we are together we destroy our foes," Ruby spoke verbosely as they walked out the front of the Academy through its grand entrance and down the skiff dock located nearby.

"I know we do Ruby," Weiss spoke Solemnly as a storm of thoughts entered her mind. They found the skiff Velocitous was talking about, on it were two female apprentices one dressed in light battle armor like Volitika the other in light robes like Velocitous.

* * *

On the skiff, the two girls were talking as they leaned on the railing to watch the two cloaked Sith approaching them. They definitely appeared unique as they walked, they looked like opposites black and red, with white and blue. They had seen footage of the duo, they were exemplary apprentices.

"So that is the Dove and Raven, huh they don't look so tough, Korva," the first apprentice in battle armor spoke, she was definitely a unique sight, a Zeltron with white hair.

"You know they have killed a Darth right, Ryaka?" The Pureblood apprentice said as the birds of Hiskal approached the

"So you are the apprentices of Volitika and Velocitous?" The dove asked of them, gesturing to the skiff.

"That would be us," Ryaka answered, with that out of the way, the duo climbed aboard the skiff.

"Do Volitika and Velocitous always fight like that?" Ruby asked the first thing that she had on her mind.

"Was Velocitous messing with her again?" Korva asked calmly.

"Yes," they both said simply in synchronization. Something that caused the other two apprentices to look at each other puzzled at the synchronization.

"That'd do it," Ryaka said her face in a pseudo frown, "So what's your names?"

"This is Weiss Schnee," Ruby smiled lowering her hood gesturing to Weiss, who was oddly quiet given the situation. "And I am Ruby Rose," Ruby continued with Weiss taking her hood down shortly after.

"Well, I'm Ryaka Matta this is Korva Avulus" The pink-skinned white haired girl smirked energetically.

"A pleasure," Weiss replied, her voice sounding like something was putting her off.

"Likewise," Ruby smirked, as her attention turned to Weiss "Something wrong Weiss?" Ruby asked as she was getting an off feeling from Weiss.

"Just thoughts I've been having," Weiss said, "do you wish we could go back to Remnant?" Weiss inquired of Ruby.

"I used to, if everyone we knew and loved was still there I would say yes, but let's face it we are all petals on the wind," Ruby answered truthfully as the skiff started to move and Ryaka and Korva backed off as they didn't want to get involved with these two's personal lives... they got enough relationship drama from their masters after all. Ruby noting the other duo backing off, she continued with "Scattered, far and wide, so far from home. Even if we could go back it wouldn't be the same place, none of our friends are there anymore."

"What about our family?" Weiss asked of Ruby forgetting about Ruby's family.

"They are all gone and your sister is too, you still have your mother, father, and your brother, Whitley," Ruby spoke she knew Weiss had a brother but, She rarely talked about him, "if you want to go back to them, I understand, but I..." Ruby stopped though, after a few tense moments, she continued with "I have no one left," Ruby said clenching her right metal hand onto the skiffs railing, deforming it. "Remnant doesn't need us anymore, Weiss, we are dead there," Ruby spoke her voice filling with Emotion. "And I am happy here, I mean look at us now, we have our lightsabers, we have power, we are heroes! we are badasses!"

"You have changed so much," Weiss spoke quietly reminiscing how Ruby was before all this had started. Ruby was sweet, keen on helping, and dreamed of being a hero. Now she was mean and cold hearted, she could still be sweet but she could also be downright scary. Ruby went from couldn't hurt a fly to choking those that merely pissed her off and even capable of finishing off attackers without a flinch.

Though, Weiss did like how serious he became along with intelligent. To add on to it, Ruby had become quite a good looking woman and over time her eyes added to her look rather than detracted from it, it allowed Ruby to pull off a look that could make people cower in fear of her. Her voice had lowered a little bit sounding more like a woman, not a teenager, though when she growled she sounded nothing like Ruby she sounded like a wolf. Along with that, her voice was starting to develop a slight variation in dialect like an accent was forming. Still part of Weiss seemed to miss the old silver eyed ball of hyperactivity that Ruby was, though part of her liked the way Ruby had evolved.

"You know Weiss I was scared to change the way I have. Now that I have embraced it I feel so much more than I did on Remnant, for once I feel strong," Ruby spoke with vigor as she looked at Weiss, who she sensed was not having an easy time sitting there on the Skiff as they ripped down the canyons, "so what, Weiss? Are you regretting the things we have done?" Ruby asked of Weiss.

Weiss thought for a few moments before giving her answer to Ruby, putting her hand to feel the scars on her face then looking at the amulet on her hand, she smirked and stood up and said,

"May nothing get in our way, for if they do we will cut them down without remorse," her voice sounded cold as ice when she said that though she had a smirk on her lips when she did. "I have no regrets, as all of our friends are gone. Remnant is no place for us, I think we have found the place we belong now. Remnant was pure torture at the hands of the Grimm and Cinder. We lost our friends, our families, we won't lose each other." Weiss said as Ruby smiled back glad to hear she had gotten over whatever was bugging her, "Besides I have you with me, why would I leave?" Weiss continued unexpectedly, with a blush on her face.

"Aye, love birds, we are almost there!" Ryaka yelled at them, letting them finish their tender moment.

"Hey when we are all done with this, we should do something fun," Ruby smiled at Weiss as she grabbed her repaired sabers off her belt.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was Chapter 16. it's another set up chapter for the events of next chapter, something I plan on having a bit of fun reworking. I am sorry for taking so long, I have been relaxing a bit on the story.**

 **Now with that feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. With that out of the way, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you! (Have a safe Halloween!)**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	17. Chapter 17: The Tomb Witch

**A/N: Well here we are with Chapter 17: The Tomb Witch!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Tomb Witch**

* * *

Sitting upon her throne inside the tombs, Pyrrha sat sensing something coming her way. She was not concerned, She had killed plenty of false Sith before. This would be no different. She also felt the presence she knew so well approach from behind. His normally intimidating voice did not scare her any more, unlike it did when she first made contact with the spirit.

"Four Sith approach, they are unlike the false Sith you have been cleansing off Korriban. They are Sith through and through, you know two of their names already, do not fight them. Join their cause. your training is complete under me, just tell them the lords of past support them, Pyrrha Nikos!" the spirit of Marka Ragnos spoke as he came forth in front of Nikos and put his finger on her for head branding her with his mark. The pain of the mark being seared onto her forehead elicited a grunt of pain but that was it.

"Thank you, My lord" Nikos spoke, standing up, it chilled her spine to hear her master call her by her true name, never the less she needed to prepare for the arrival of the Sith. If they had earned Ragnos's respect they had hers. Looking down into the valley she saw the hordes of the weak minded corrupted by her power. She felt their presence at the end of the valley, She could feel they were indeed powerful, and she wanted to test them.

* * *

On the cliff a rusted droid watched on "Statement, this will most interesting," he was following his master's orders as he sighted down the scope of his high-powered sniper blaster rifle. "Statement, Mission Parameters, locate and protect Ruby Rose from undo harm, do not interfere unless necessary, how boring," the droid said aloud as he swiveled the rifle to watch the skiff. As all of those down below seem to be unaware of his position.

He watched the skiff through the scope of his high power blaster rifle. He watched them disembark the skiff, the one in the black cloak was the one he had to guard. That was Ruby Rose, the Raven of Hiskal. The other three were expendable. The rusted droid noted how the army of mind slaved minions broke their line to allow them to pass.

"Statement, Most interesting."

* * *

"That's a lot of people," Korva said holding her lightsaber tight as they looked at the crowd of corrupted soldiers and acolytes, who were staring at the skiff as it approached. Though they did not attack, it looked as if they were expecting them. Getting down from the skiff the four girls looked at the horde as it parted. Something they did not expect. Cautious, they still kept their lightsabers drawn but unignited. They walked down the isle that was formed. It was leading them towards the tomb of Marka Ragnos.

Ruby and Weiss, along with the other two Sith were tense, Though the Remnant duo couldn't help but look around, the structures of the tombs were made of massive red stone, demanding their attention. Though they kept walking till they reached the stairs to the entrance to the tomb. Which bore a ragged black banner with a white arrow on it, something the four had been informed was a calling card of the tomb witch. Walking inside of the Tomb they saw even more acolytes, troopers, and other personnel from the academy, by the way they were acting the four knew they were the Tomb Witch's puppets.

Their eyes glowing red, their minds bent to her whim. Weiss and Ruby were quite impressed that Pyrrha had the mental fortitude to hold the command of this many people, let alone the sheer force power. Imperious and Malserik taught the girls that most force users had an affinity or two towards a specific thing. They could guess this was Pyrrha's affinity.

The inside of the tomb stunk of the dead and decaying corpses, mixed with a tinge of burned flesh. This repulsive smell made Weiss cringe while Ruby was unaffected, Imperious made sure odors like this didn't affect her. Though, just because it didn't eek a reaction out of her did not mean she did not pay it any note. Ruby continued with Weiss and the other two quickly following behind, all with sabers in hand, ready to be ignited at a moments notice. Though as they continued deeper in the tomb, they found themselves on a path bordered, at all times by an isle corrupted soldiers and acolytes that guided the four into what seemed like a throne room in the tomb.

The high vaulted ceilings the metallic accents. Stone sculptures, engraved walls, this was the main chamber of the tomb. Sitting on the ramshackle throne they saw her. Looking down at them. She stood up and smiled.

"Well if isn't my honored guests," She spoke politely, they could tell by the voice it was definitely Pyrrha, despite how much she had changed, her voice was a bit raspier, her physical appearance, even the way she moved had changed, her normally humble movements became powerful and confident owning the room. The blood markings and other things like scars that marred her body. This was not the graceful warrior they used to know. As she descended the throne as scepter on her back and retrosaber in hand, she ignited her unstable orange blade. In response, Karva and Ryaka, ignited their sabers, while Ruby and Weiss didn't. Instead Ruby and Weiss pulled the knives off of their belt, much to the discomfort to their new allies, who wanted to scream, 'what the hell are you two doing!?'

The two apprentices, stood at the ready, blades humming away, ready to attack. While Ruby and Weiss spoke in unison as they held their knives up, "Black Knight of Prydwen, Pyrrha Nikos, stand down."

It was at that moment Pyrrha realized she didn't have to test the two in front of her, they even pulsed their aura for good measure. Pyrrha's mind went into shock, she was told she knew two of them, and she did, black and red and white and blue, colors she knew. The deal was sealed when they lowered their hoods. Causing the witch to mutter "Ruby. Weiss," people she knew, her friends were here and alive... Alive!

Drawing her own knife, she deactivated her saber, as a smile formed on her face. It was at this point the other two apprentices looked at the tomb witch wide-eyed. As the trio confirmed their identities Pyrrha walked up to them with a bright look on her face. An emotion she had long forgotten filled her system, and that was joy. As she drew closer she yelled out,

"It really is you two!" Pyrrha yelled with tears of joy on her blood marked face, the tears flowing down the one purple line that intersected the oval marking on her face over her right eye.

"yeah, it's us," Ruby smiled warmly, as the three stopped embracing her in a group hug. As they did this the two other Sith sighed and walked out of the temple, not wanting to get in the way of the three.

"Wow, Ruby you have grown and your eyes changed, they look nice. Weiss you even got a little taller and your hair style looks good on you," Pyrrha said as she looked over her friends, really impressed by how they changed, "I suppose I must look pretty awful?" Pyrrha said nervously shrugging; it seemed like she was reverting to her normal self to Weiss and Ruby, either that or seeing them broke what emotional trauma or scars she bore, it was like the Pyrrha they knew regained control of her body.

"So what happened to you?" Weiss asked as that was the first question to come to mind.

"I've been living here in these tombs, there are spirits and ghosts that live here. They taught me what I know," Pyrrha smiled with a light chuckle at how ridiculous that sounded.

"Wait, so you were taught by ghosts?" Ruby asked, quite curious what Pyrrha meant by spirits.

"In the meaning of things, you could say I was," Pyrrha chuckled as Ruby noticed a familiar mark on Pyrrha's forehead.

"Weiss, Pyrrha has the same mark on her forehead as you," Ruby stated to draw Weiss's attention to it, but before she could speak a loud booming voice spoke,

"That is my mark, the Mark of Marka Ragnos, Fleurnoire. Glatteis only bears the mark from Exar Kun nothing else," that's when Weiss buckled over in a burning pain on her forehead as smoke escaped her finger as she cupped the scar. After the pain subsided Weiss felt where the scar-like mark should be, it was still there. Ruby felt the transferred pain "Now you bare the real mark, not some fragment of Kun," the disembodied voice said as the horrifying looking specter appeared in front of Weiss. "The four daughters of the force, you four are destined to bring a new era to the Sith, you have all the Sith of old's approval."

"So don't I get a mark?" Ruby asked unsure of why she wasn't getting one, she did kind of like the marking, though she didn't much care for how it hurt Weiss who was recovering from her mark being 'renewed'.

"Fleurnoire, you are not undeserving, you already bare the mark of a Sith, both in your blood, and your arm," Ragnos explained to the young Sith. "For me to mark you it would be a great offense to the Sith who have yet to come. Alas, out of the four you are the one who won't bare markings but a mask." Ruby was puzzled by this, what did he mean by 'a mask.' Before she could ask Pyrrha had something else to inquire about.

"You said four, who's the fourth?" Pyrrha asked having completely forgotten about Nora.

"Svarttrost will be found last!" Marka Ragnos decreed, fading out of existence Weiss stood back up both Pyrrha and Ruby noticed the absence of the marking,

"Svarttrost must be Nora," Ruby said calmly "now we have to find her."

"Yeah, who knows we may find more of our friends along the way!" Weiss smiled as she seemed happy as this confirmed what Ruby said earlier, they were indeed scattered like petals, all of them were.

"Wait, Weiss that could mean Yang and everyone else could be here too," Ruby said getting excited as the realization dawned on her that her friends and sister may not be dead.

"Hey, hate to cut you three short but we have guests and not in a good way," Ryaka yelled, running down the isle of people in the tomb formed by the corrupted with Korva. Drawing their sabers they the five of them darted back out of the tomb followed by all of the servants of Pyrrha. Reaching the entrance of the tomb, looking outside they saw a group of very well equipped Sith lords starring down at them there were easily fifteen of them standing in front of a fresh pile of corpses. The one in the center appeared to be a Darth as he was very well dressed and his body was really starting to show the dark side corruption.

* * *

Imperious had just received a message from Velocitous, pondering it __Damn why couldn't he tell me that Darth Kahless was involved in this, if he shows up Ruby and Weiss may not be able to handle it. This could be really bad. I hope Velocitous and Volitika can get there in time otherwise the prophecy will die.__ Darth Kahless one of the many thorns in Imperious's side, though what made him special was that she couldn't outright kill him. She would love to slice his head off, but one of her opponents on the dark council was protecting him. Doing it herself would jeopardize her plans. Imperious continued her work on her holo-terminal to take her mind off of that thought. She hoped they could handle it.

* * *

"Minions, Slaughter!" Pyrrha commanded taking her staff in hand as the other four ignited their sabers. The minions stood forming a phalanx to protect the five of them and engage the lords. Swords, training sabers, blasters, even a few lightsabers clashed against the wall of Sith. Like a warm knife through butter, they cut the line down, with either the force or lightsabers. One or two of the Sith were felled by the horde. Pyrrha entered her combat stance, her Retrosaber in her right hand her scepter in her left. Ruby had her sabers drawn connected for a staff with only one blade ignited, in her left hand she various dust crystals in her other hand. Weiss had her saber drawn and ignited with dust crystals in her off hand. Ryaka and Korva ignited their sabers in preparation for battle.

"Weiss, Forges of Hell!" Ruby yelled telling Weiss to use fire dust, she taught Ruby how to effectively channel dust a few months ago. Now with a renewed supply from Hiskal's mines, Ruby and Weiss kept dust as a secret weapon. Crushing the orange crystal above their blades, there the dust flowed into the energy blade, floral glyphs and snowflake glyphs flared up all around the attackers and fireballs detonated on the ground below them with each flick of Ruby and Weiss's wrists. This thinned the crowd of Sith to about seven. The Sith closed fast with the five of them their blades all blaring a blazing red.

That's when Ruby and Weiss effectively disappeared dissolving into a cloud of petals Ruby's red and black, Weiss's white and blue. Almost as if they teleported they appeared behind the Sith. Running their blades through two of them, they let back in one fluid motion now the fight was even, almost they still had the Darth to worry about, who Pyrrha dashed into engage. The other two were engaged by Korva and Ryaka. The fight quickly turned into a mosh pit like battle. Blades swinging left and right, the sounds of sabers clashing this wasn't a duel like most of the battles they have been in prior. This was a true battle.

Before the combat got too far out of hand, Ruby engaged the second blade of her saber staff, Quickly striking her opponent. Weiss was at her back combating the opponent in front of her. Until the Darth decided to slam Weiss with a bolt of force lightning combined with a massive force wave. The attack broke Weiss's aura, slamming Weiss into one of the valley's sandstone tombs walls.

Feeling the pain Weiss felt, Ruby was enraged. Leaping back she maneuvered her saber to form glyphs around the opponent in front of her, locking him down. Separating her blades she threw one into the locked down Sith's chest killing him instantly, while the Sith Weiss was engaged with leaped at her to perform a finishing blow. Midair, he was ripped back and slammed into the ground hard enough to break his spine.

Recovering from the blast Weiss reignited her extinguished saber as she felt a massive pain in her chest like something was stabbing her, an invisible knife in her sternum. She noticed Ruby's brutality as the other two lords knocked Korva and Ryaka off their feet and into a wall. She watched Ruby and Pyrrha engage the three remaining Sith. Pyrrha blasted one of them with an orange beam from her staff as Ruby dealt with the other lord quickly with a decapitating strike from behind.

"Annoying girl," the Darth said as he sliced the emitters off her sabers, then blasted Ruby into a wall disarming her then, blasting her with force lightning. Feeling Ruby's pain and the pain in her chest Weiss stood as she ran up to attack the Darth thought she was down for the count but she was angry, no more than angry, absolutely enraged.

Pyrrha could see and feel the wrath Weiss projected at the Darth. Her blade movement was furious as she poured force lightning into the blade of her saber, the strikes she was making were unlike her normal technique. Filled with hatred and anger the blade flew through the air, the lighting crackling filled the air. As Weiss blade crashed against the Darth's, his blade shorted out but Weiss's saber's crystal couldn't take the stress of all the force lightning she was pouring into the blade, it cracked the crystal destabilizing the blade, changing its handling, Drastically. though her saber couldn't handle the strain of the unstable crystal blasting out the emitter, deactivating her saber. Not realizing what had happened, Weiss got slammed back to the wall of the canyon as well. Ruby had recovered enough to take Exar Kuns lightsaber from Weiss's belt using the force and use the cross guard trophy saber she kept on her belt.

The pain in Ruby's chest was unbearable, though this pain was fueling her as she charged the Sith as Pyrrha had back off to recover herself, a blur of blue and red charged at the Sith. The Darth took up two blades from the dead on the ground in his hands to parry Ruby's onslaught. Her blades were like saws with how fast they were moving. Then Pyrrha leaped back into the fray, this Darth was avoiding the both of them. Getting an opportunity he slammed Pyrrha to the ground, knocking her unconscious by slamming her head on a rock. Ruby was in an unquenchable rage each attack followed by a force amplified scream. To the Darth, this girl was something fierce that's when he sensed the dove was readying a torrent of lightning with his name on it.

Deflecting the girl he blocked the glyph focused lightning with his blade. Ruby threw the blue lightsaber back to Weiss, who caught the hilt and ignited the blade. Ruby pressed her attack with the trophy cross guard saber, pressing on, Weiss and Ruby both shared the pain in their chests as they attacked. Though as he dueled the two girls he managed to catch them off guard quite a few times, though their fighting style was unfocused one of sheer rage. Taking advantage of this the Sith managed to disarm and grab them both by the throat.

* * *

Seeing the scene below the rusted brown droid sighted the head of the Darth and said "Statement Mission parameters met, terminate the meat bag," if the droid had a face he would be smiling with glee as he squeezed the trigger.

* * *

One of the few times Ruby felt legitimate terror in a while, though what she saw she couldn't believe the Darth blocked the blaster bolt, allowing Ruby and Weiss to free themselves from his grip. As she freed herself Weiss began to pummel the dark lord with force lightning further charged by Kun's amulet that she wore on the back of her hand. While Weiss attacked Ruby retrieved Vader's saber from the ground and ran it through the Darth's chest, killing him instantly. Though as she did Weiss heard a word echo throughout the valley, a word Ruby had never said in the context she did at that moment.

"Just fucking DIE!" Ruby screamed her rage exploding forward from her lips. Weiss was shocked to hear Ruby yell that in such a way as the humming blade impaled the Darth's chest. As she watched Ruby drop the body she knew one thing was certain, Ruby wouldn't able to go back to being who she was before all of this happened, though Weiss's thought was did she even want her to?

After that Weiss and Ruby were huffing with exhaustion and pain, Ryaka and Korva began to recover from the encounter, along with Pyrrha. Ruby collected the saber of the Darth along with a few of the lords' sabers. She glanced them over, they looked nice, the Darth's was a definite wall hanger, she thought as she held it. Then still with the pain in her chest she quickly scaled the cliff using force assisted jumps, looking for the sniper who was gone. She cursed, wondering who it was that took the shot. Mainly to thank them and to find out who it was

* * *

Watching Ruby from afar, after quickly retreating HK-47 said: "Pondering, no not yet, she doesn't need to know yet." The rustic droid said as he watched the scene below. Deciding this, he walked back to his ship.

* * *

Returning back down the cliff Ruby analyzed the pain in her chest it wasn't heart pain, no it felt like something was embedded in her sternum. Ruby discretely inspected her chest there were no wounds. It was strange, Weiss was doing the same, they could find nothing wrong with their bodies. Ruby ignoring the pain, pulled out her modified scroll and used the holo-comm system to reach the Whispering Specter. "Roman, Neo, you there?" Ruby spoke into the comm system

"Yes my lady," Neo responded kindly through the holo-comm as Roman could be heard in the background going,

"Not you too, Neo!"

"Objective complete, we need a pick up at my location," Ruby said calmly wincing a little from the pain in her chest as she wanted to honor the buffoon of an officer with a rep but deemed it beneath her at the given moment.

"Rodger my lady," Neo said calmly with a smile. Ruby put her scroll away as they looked at the field of bodies caused by Pyrrha's corrupted and the Sith assault team.

"So Weiss what's going on with this pain?" Ruby asked seeing if Weiss had figured anything out.

"No idea, but I don't like it" She replied as another skiff came barreling down the canyon. Stopping just before the line of bodies two figures leaped out as the Whispering Specter descended from orbit. Velocitus and Volitika examined the scene their eyes went wide looking at the corpse of Kahless then looking up at the girls,

"Did one of you do this?" Velocitous asked pointing at the body, giving it a firm kick to ensure it was well and truly deceased before making a witty remark.

"Seems the master follows his apprentice," he said under his voice, but Volitika snickered at that remark.

"Yes, Weiss and I did," Ruby said calmly showing the saber on her belt. This made Velocitous and Volitika look at each other then back at the girls, as the dust and wind blew from the specter landing. They saw the tomb witch had joined them. After the shock of all, they said and saw wearing off

"Get back to Hiskal you three; we will clean up the trash." Velocitous smiled kindly as he went to check on his apprentice, Volitika did the same as the ramp lowered on the Specter allowing Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha with some of her things to enter.

Pyrrha was gasping at the sight of the ship, never in her life had she seen such a thing, she looked around the ship with awe as Ruby and Weiss flopped into the quarter circle couch in the lounge. The pain still in their chests, Ruby and Weiss were really starting to get concerned as it felt like this pain was sapping their aura and force power away from them. They were going to visit the medical ward at Waldstahl when they got back. Knowing to return to Waldstahl, Neo and Roman punched in the coordinates.

In their seat Ruby and Weiss were freaking out internally, they were hoping it was nothing but by the way the pain was evolving, that looked to not be the case. Sitting next to each other, a weakness crept over their bodies. They grasped each other's hands as they rested their heads together. As they did this their eyelids got heavy and closed with a grim finality.

* * *

As Pyrrha got her limited things in order, she walked back out into the lounge area. What she saw seemed inane at first. After a few minutes, she noted they weren't sleeping, the were unconscious. Darting over, she listened for breathing and felt both of their pulses. As she felt her palms got clammy and her heart raced as she listened and felt. She heard their light and weak breathing, it was labored. She felt the patter of their hearts in their necks, their pulse was weak and elevated. Not wanting to leave them unattended, Pyrrha yelled into the cockpit hallway as best she could,

"Hey, I need some help back here!" She yelled while still using the force to keep check on Ruby, she had not met the crew of the vessel, let alone knew if there was any crew on this ship, she figured there was considering the ship came down from the sky itself. "Ruby and Weiss are sick!" she continued, hearing this, both the pilots rushed back and what Pyrrha saw shocked her to the core.

In front of her was Neo and Roman, she was confused, almost on the verge of feeling betrayed. That's when Neo said

"Despite who we used to be we are not your enemy," The pink, brown and white haired girl smirked, After a few minutes they decided to transfer the unconscious couple to the medical bay. Neo being trained vigorously in medicine examined the two unconscious Sith, while Roman contacted 'Waldstahl.' Pyrrha was confused, they were enemies back on Remnant, but right now she saw a look of concern on both of their faces that she did not expect. Unsure of what to do as Neo asked not to be disturbed, she decided to follow Roman.

Walking into the cockpit she saw the blue vortex that was Hyperspace, the holocrons she had delved into mentioned hyperspace but this was her first space flight. Walking into the cockpit ignoring the orange haired pilot closing communications. As she stood there, she gazed into the blue vortex with great interest, as she tried to use the force to see if there was anything else to hyperspace, Roman scrunched his nose as he sniffed the air.

"I'd bet credits they don't have showers in the tombs?" Roman blurted out as he turned to face the Sith behind him. This sudden statement startled Pyrrha, who was seemingly pseudo hypnotized by the vortex of Hyperspace. Not hearing what the former criminal, she asked,

"Pardon?"

"You smell horrible," Roman said bluntly much to her anger. He could see her reaching for her saber which looked crappy in its own right. Figuring it would save his life or at least prolong it, Roman continued with, "Hey, I meant no offense just trying to tell you, you may want to clean up before you meet my boss," he wanted to add, 'unless you like smelling like a mix of ash, blood, and B. O.' But he deemed it counterproductive as it could reduce his life and not extend it.

Pyrrha, stood looking at the man, she wanted to cut him up for what he said, and for who he was, but he must be an ally. She wanted to kill them simply for who they were, but she figured Ruby and Weiss came to Korriban with them, they looked more like soldiers now than criminals. Keeping her guard up, wanting to draw her saber on the man in front of her for his crimes back on Remnant. It was at this point a third accented voice chimed in.

"Lady Ruby and lady Weiss are stable, I could not find what was ailing them, but they are stable," The voice spoke calmly as it finished off with something completely unexpected, "Lady Pyrrha." Turning around she saw Neo bowing towards her. While turning back around to look at Roman who was groaning at Neo.

Pyrrha looked between the two of them, her glare narrowing and her palm gripping the saber, as she spoke, "Why should I let you live for what you did, to us, what you did on Remnant," Pyrrha spoke low almost growling at the two.

"Neither of us were directly responsible, and we owe Ruby and Weiss our lives for saving us and allowing us to live," Neo explained, Pyrrha looked at them as Neo walked over to Roman as the ship pulled out of hyperspace over Drommund Kaas. "They forgave us I think, but in reality, I was forced to work for Cinder, as was Roman, if you wish to exact your revenge, I will not stop you," as Neo said this Roman wanted to rip that artificial voice box from her throat.

"I will discuss this with Ruby and Weiss until then you get to live," Pyrrha spoke as she walked to the medical bay to see the duo of red and white laying on the beds hooked up to various machines. She could tell by the looks on their faces they were in pain, sensing through the force she detected an anomaly in their chests, like a small lake of dark side energy was pooling in their chests.

While Pyrrha was in the medical bay with the other two Sith, Roman, and Neo, began landing procedures to bring the ship down from orbit and back to Waldstahl.

* * *

Returning to Korriban, Velocitous and Volitika met in their hidden communications chamber, they and their apprentices had cleaned up the mess of the dead Darth Kahless and his vassals, by cleaned up they threw the corpse into the lava pits inside the tombs. After the tomb witch departed it her vassals had regained control over their bodies and returned to the task they were doing prior to their enslavement to the Witch.

"So, our apprentices and the tomb witch managed to kill Kahless!?" Imperious asked double checking to make sure she heard her blue skinned friend properly. Her figure and visage masked by a heavy black cloak. By the sound of her voice, she was legitimately shocked by this news.

"That is correct my lady, they were dead when we arrived, and from the looks of things, attaching images now, they put on quite a show."

* * *

Sitting in her quarters in Waldstahl, Imperious looked at the images that Velocitous uploaded, they were shocking and brutal, with bodies thrown to and fro. Though the second image showed Kahless's corpse with a hole burned through his chest, along with extensive force lightning damage. With this being their second Darth kill Imperious was quite shocked that those three managed to remove that thorn in her side. _By the force these two are going the route I did, an apprentice that kills a high ranking Darth, no one would think they did it._ She was smiling at how history seemed to mirror itself. _So they killed my version of Skocia, this is most amusing._ She smiled as she took a sip of her tea, thankful for the avatar hologram she used so she didn't have to put on a gaudy heavy cloak like that whenever she wanted to communicate.

"Velocitous, Volitika, please be careful now as you may have to take the blame for his death," Imperious spoke in a tone that told the two on the other end, there could be retaliation for these actions.

"No, we spun up the story that the tomb witch killed them before being killed by the group of five apprentices, consisting of the actual tomb witch and our apprentices, it should be believed by most, as the Tomb Witch would have been exhausted enough that five lucky apprentices finished her off," Velocitous smiled as Imperious weaved the idea into her web like plan. She was making sure it would fit in with her plan and assist in the end goal of the plan.

After she realized it would cause no harm, she said: "alright, do as you wish."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for taking a bit longer on this chapter, dealt with a bit of writer's block by getting back into a card game, Yu Gi Oh to be specific, so that is what I have been up to. As for this, I felt like changing a few details from the original Chapter 4. mainly dealing with Pyrrha. Then I wanted to go into what happened on the Whispering Specter after Ruby and Weiss passed out, and how Pyrrha wouldn't trust Roman or Neo anytime soon. I really don't have that much to say.**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	18. Chapter 18: A Bloody Rose at Midnight

**A/N: Back to 100K words! With that said Chapter 18: A Bloody Rose at Midnight!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: A Bloody Rose at Midnight**

* * *

In Waldstahl's hanger bay, the same one they were in only hours ago, Malserik and Imperious eagerly awaited the return of their apprentices with Pyrrha.

"Well, Neo said they just got back into the orbit of Drommund Kaas," Malserik spoke, relieved that they would be returning home safely.

"Good you heard what happened, Malserik?" Imperious inquired not sure how much contact Malserik had with Velocitous, and how recent it was. Though his response was unlike anything she had expected.

"No, because you haven't told me yet, Ceres" Malserik replied, disinterested as he knew they would recover the Tomb Witch or dispatch her, either that or they perished, there really wasn't much room for alternatives. Though he hoped that they had survived.

"Couldn't you be at least interested," Imperious said slightly un-amused by Malserik's tone, "The girls killed Kahless," Imperious said in a mellow tone despite how important the news was, as it advanced the schedule of the plan.

"Well, that's a bit of a shock," Malserik said wide-eyed, as even he knew Kahless was a thorn in the side of their organization and their plan. Hearing the girls slew such a threat amazed him, as Kahless was a powerful Sith. Though as his gaze returned to the hanger, Malserik was shocked to see medical personnel rushing on to the hanger bay floor. Rushing down the scaffold, He inquired with, "What the hell is going on?"

"My lord something happened to Ruby and Weiss," The medic guardsman replied. After the ship touched down Ruby and Weiss were removed from the ship's med bay, unconscious. They were brought straight to Waldstahl's medical wing. There the doctor's were puzzled at the symptoms, though during the initial scans of their bodies something was off with their sternums. Doing more focused scans it was revealed the girls had crystals lodged in their sternum.

Deciding it would be prudent to remove the crystals Malserik ordered the doctor's to proceed with the operation as soon as possible. Within fifteen minutes Waldstahl's cadre of doctors began their work, under the close eye of their superiors. They were both being operated on at the same time in the same room. Once they had the anaesthetic hooked up, they started with an incision into the center of their chest making sure to only damage what was necessary for extraction of the crystals.

Though one of the doctors found out, removing the crystals would prove to be difficult as they shocked who ever touched them with their hands or metal tools. With this issue becoming a major barrier, Malserik had them hook the extraction tools to grounding wires and made sure the doctors and medical droids were properly protected. Thankfully the girls were stable enough for Malserik to do this.

After these procedures were taken, the doctors and medical droids managed to safely extract the glowing crystals from the girl's chests. Though, after they were removed they doctors filled the voids left in the bone with a healing gel and sealed the incision with a scar prevention gel. Within three, tense and nail biting, hours the girls were in recovery. aside from the crystals in their chest, they were fine and would be fine minus some soreness from the incision. They barely knew what had happened, they just remembered passing out on the specter and waking up in recovery.

* * *

While they were in recovery working the anesthesia out of their systems, Malserik took the crystals down to his lab while Imperious kept an eye on the girls. Using plastic tongs, with a jury-rigged grounded cable, Malserik manipulated the crystals, as even manipulating them with the force managed to shock him. The shocks were painful and draining but to a force user they were more of a pain than a threat. As he manipulated them he ran the dastardly crystals through numerous material tests and structural analysis.

From what Malserik could gather, they were like lightsaber crystals but they seemed like they were more like precious gems that couldn't be used in a saber. The two red ones removed from Weiss's chest were similar to rubies, while the one from Ruby's chest was akin to a sapphire. The crystals seemed to have been morphed and twisted, almost if they grew in the girl's bodies. Though the longer he was in their presence he could feel they had a natural dark side aura to them. Looking at the crystalline structure it seemed these crystals were like hybrid crystals, the structure looked natural at points at other points they looked like a synthetic crystal.

If Malserik could say one thing they were certainly beautiful crystals, pulsing with the light like most crystals do but these had a rhythm to the pulsing along with a swirling shadow that. He received a notification that they were coming to, so cleaning up the lab he put the three crystals on pads on a tray and carried them personally to their room.

* * *

"So what are we doing here?" Weiss asked of Imperious as neither of them understood what happened after they had awoken in Waldstahl's high-tech medical facility.

"Yeah, what happened?" Ruby asked with a grumble, as the pain in her chest was replaced with a slightly sore wound that now that their aura could recover, they both healed the surgical wound rapidly.

"First off, you two killed one of our greatest opponents without knowing it, so good job there," Imperious said happily leaning on the wall, she sensed Malserik was right outside. With that in mind "as for the Reason you are here, I'll allow Malserik to explain."

"Well we found the cause of your chest pain," Malserik spoke as he entered the room and held up a tray with three very jagged crystals. The girls saw a faint pulsing in them, the light being emitted from the crystals, "Turns out you two had high-grade lightsaber crystals in your sternum, the red ones are from Weiss, the blue is from Ruby."

Seeing this, the girls concluded the same thing. They both saw what these crystals used to be, with Ruby blurting it out "the necklaces."

"Oh my god," Weiss continued wide-eyed, remembering the blast in the vortex that came from their necklaces being shattered.

"These things have a tendency to shock those who touch it, so please, Weiss take the blue crystal, Ruby take one of the red ones," Malserik ordered with a smile, as they picked up and held the crystals, their aura's pulsed but they weren't being electrocuted. That's when looking at the pulsing in the crystals, Malserik noted while looking at the EKG they matched their hearts. __What are these two girls__ _?_ He thought to himself as he smiled and said "Well I think you two have your new saber crystals," after finishing his sentence, the door to the room hissed opened and the three other Remnants entered.

"So how are they?" Pyrrha inquired upon entering the room followed by Roman and Neo.

"They are fine, Miss Nikos," Malserik responded calmly with a smile.

"Thank Monty," Pyrrha sighed relieved to hear the status of her friends who were both looking at her as she wore a gray tunic like their own now and she was cleaned up looking a lot better than she did.

"I am glad to hear that the ladies are fine," Neo smiled over the course of the five months her fear of the girls was replaced with respect and loyalty though she was still loyal to Roman as well, not that it mattered. Despite the occasional squabble or clash the four of them did get along.

"Yeah good to hear they didn't croak under a littler chest pain," Roman chuckled with a bit of teasing. "Be a real shame if they died like that." Despite his fear of the force he still managed to form a little respect for Ruby and Weiss, considering he owed them his life for saving him and Neo.

"Weiss, Ruby, and Pyrrha," Imperious spoke with authority for getting their attention "due to your skills in the force and in battle, you three are exemplary Sith and I hear by name you lords of the Sith," Imperious spoke in a tone that was collected and orderly. "Now over the next few weeks I want you two to get used to fighting alongside Miss Nikos again, along with construct new sabers, ones of your own, Not Malserik's garbage," this statement pissed Malserik off, but he got over as he did sort of give them less than nominal sabers he admitted to himself in his mind.

* * *

During the time Ruby and Weiss were in surgery, Pyrrha did not trust Neo and Roman, but she was told by Imperious, a woman, despite her looking young and inexperienced, she commanded her respect as she was extremely strong in the force. She told her to work with the two other Remnants. Despite the dislike, Pyrrha had for them both, though she was told by Imperious that they are loyal to their cause. Neo seemed friendly, though Roman was still, as to be expected, a complete idiot. During this time a few Sith did decide to attack, Hiskal again just to be a thorn in their sides, to throw their aggressors for a loop and because the Dove and Raven were not in any position to handle the issue Malserik took up the task of dealing with them.

While Malserik was out dealing with a few arrogant thorns, Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Imperious met on the balcony as the snow had stopped.

"So Pyrrha, you said Marka Ragnos trained you," Imperious said as Pyrrha presented the scepter forward as proof, "Interesting, why did he take interest in you, do you know?"

"No I'm afraid I don't, minus he said I was to be very important to a prophecy," Pyrrha explained, picking up her scepter and began to lean on it.

"Still the fact ghosts trained you," Weiss said still unsure how she felt about that.

"Well you could also say I have some spirits here too, " Pyrrha said nervously as she pointed to her chest. This went right over Ruby and Weiss's head though Imperious's eyes went wide this girl could spirit walk.

"You can bind spirits to yours, is that what you're saying?" Imperious asked calmly.

"Yes," Pyrrha said quietly almost nervous of admitting this fact.

"So who was the person you saw in your Vision?" Ruby asked to see if she knew,

"His name was Darth Bane he's how I got the mark around my eye" Pyrrha responded calmly.

"Interesting so I take it he called you Noxcaedis?" Weiss asked calmly, as it seemed whoever these people were, they gave them all names.

"That is correct" Pyrrha responded, shifting uneasily as Ruby, Weiss, and Imperious looked at her.

"Well that's interesting, So she is like you two then" Imperious smiled calmly, referring to the fact these girls had similarities like a Darth name and an affinity ability, "So welcome to our little group, Pyrrha. Dornettz here will take you to your room." Imperious said as Dornettz walked out to the overlook to get Pyrrha and Imperious talked to Weiss and Ruby about the future.

* * *

Returning to Tatooine, Edrik's pain was at a maximum. he was too exhausted to scream out in pain. His legs were broken and the sand people were tormenting him constantly. These creatures were monsters. He was screaming death to them in his head. He would never be able to fight them as he no longer had hands as the war maiden took them from him. "How is the little sloth?" the War maiden's voice ringing in his head driving him mad. He hated her she was making a mockery of the Jedi by defeating him. He would have his revenge. over the next few weeks, he would escape through sheer determination and will.

Crawling through the desert this Jedi managed to survive. Fueled by the hatred of the War Maiden He managed to walk through the pain of two broken legs, something he mended using the force. He knew he was in no condition to return to either the Jedi or face the War maiden a second time. Instead, he disappeared into the desert. He needed to learn more of the dark ways, something that was returning to him with each agonizing step. he was giving into his dark nature

* * *

Over the next month, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha started to practice together, as Hiskal seemed to be quite quiet for now. Pyrrha's fighting style was more ranged than before, firing bolts of Darkside energy from her scepter as she used her saber as more of a shield than an offensive weapon. Though she could sling up the scepter and use her tethered saber as an offensive weapon, though if she did she was brutal and precise with her attacks, and if need she could draw the hidden Sith sword in the base of the scepter.

During this time Ruby continued the design of her new saber, delving into many holocrons and databases to get ideas. While working on the design, she was half tempted to call it Crescent Rose two point oh, as she did mimic its aesthetics, though she decided to not do that.

She needed a better name. Something more intimidating. With her basic knowledge of an old language that used to be used on Patch, she crafted a new name, "Rose De Sang" or in basic, Blood Rose.

The design was complex using a set of paired cross guarded lightsabers with a special emitter system she could redirect power from one to the other or shut off the guards independently, effectively so she could make a lightsaber scythe. Taking from Vader's design she added a triple phase crystal function to make her saber able to alter its length readily and increasing the power the blade was capable of unleashing. Along with that, she designed it with telescopic elements in the hilt like from her late uncle Qrow's sword. This saber was designed to give her more reach and other advantages while fighting, than any standard saber. Though unlike Cresent, she refused to taint this design with a ranged weapon mode.

With her new knowledge of phrik alloys, she could get rid of her problem of lightsabers cutting her baby apart. With the design complete she took it to Imperious, who forwarded the design to Malserik to get her the parts she needs though Imperious made quite a few alterations to Ruby's design mainly concerning materials. Imperious wanted her to have the finest materials she could get, as the way she saw it if she was to be her successor eventually she might as well get the best.

Malserik cursed when he saw the design, Weiss, who was at this time making her own saber, had warned him about Ruby's ability to come up with insanely complicated weapons, but this design made SturmKreig look simple. As complicated as it was, it was brilliant. As it was a saber that could cover so many various hard to combat roles, making Malserik think, __this damn thing would be painful to combat. That is if she can get it working__ _,_ something he seriously doubted Ruby could do, as this lightsaber was insane. Even with that thought, Malserik still taught Ruby how to use the machines in his lab and shop.

.she quickly took it in spades and got to work, Ruby was giddy like as a school girl as she worked. milling and machining the phrik blanks, to the shapes of the parts she designed. A constant smirk was on her lips as she worked in the lab. Malserik was impressed with her talent with heavy manufacturing equipment. Even Imperious came to watch as Ruby worked the glint in her golden eyes beneath the safety goggles told her that she was so focused on the task at hand. After two days Ruby had made duplicates of all of the parts she needed.

When Ruby finished producing the main parts out of the phrik blanks, she started constructing the saber. It was at that point when she went full recluse. For a week and a half taking four synthetic crystals and Weiss's blood shards, as she called them. The synthetic crystals couldn't withstand the strain of her saber's ignition sequence cracking and shattering upon her first test ignition. She tried again three times same result. The weak synthetic crystals couldn't take the abuse of the blood shards. Hearing the failures to ignite Imperious came up to the distraught Ruby, whom she had taken a liking to watching her tinker with that lightsaber.

"This will never work!" Ruby screamed slamming her metal hand on to the desk, denting it, "Damn it!" Ruby cursed as she put her face on the desk as she saw the popped crystals in the hilt of her saber.

"Those crystals couldn't handle the stress could they?" Imperious said as Ruby was adamant on only using what she had at her disposal, Imperious knew the use of synthetic crystals in a saber like this one was a bad idea. She was just seeing how long Ruby was going to be stubborn. "Even if it did work the lenses couldn't handle the stress of the blade," Imperious continued "Really you need some rare crystals and pontite lenses on all six emitters to pull this design off; thankfully Malserik has a stock in rare crystals in his archive, which I appropriated for you," Imperious smirked as she did leave a note for Malserik though she knew he wouldn't be too happy with the idea.

"So what are these crystals you got?" Ruby asked quite curious of what Imperious had grabbed.

"They are ones Malserik originally wanted me to use a while back, but I just use two blue Adegan crystals so I think you will like them, and the pontite lenses I found out Malserik had a lot of them in his workshop." Imperious smiled as she looked into the golden eyes of her former apprentice as she took out a bag of six pontite emitter lenses and she took a clenched hand and dropped the four crystals into Ruby's metal hand. Through the metal, Ruby could feel the power in the crystals "In your hands are some of the rarest lightsaber crystals in existence Qixoni Crystals and Kaiburr Shards," Imperious smiled as she let Ruby take in the idea of what she was holding in her hands. The information she had gathered the rose colored slivers were the Kaiburr and the blood red ones were the Qixoni. She began refitting one of her paired sabers with these new parts after thirty minutes it was ready.

"Here goes nothing," Ruby said cringing as she pressed the ignition switch. The blade ignited in a powerful sound it sounded very different from the standard Lightsaber ignition. it sounded more powerful like the saber could tear itself apart. Seeing the main blade active Ruby ignited the quillons of the cross guard. She was in awe of the beauty of the blade its blood red edge with a light rose core made this saber all the more fitting to her. Testing the Hilt Extension system she was feeling joy, as she felt the power of this blade, it radiated with the Dark side. Quickly deactivating that saber she took the next few hours to finish up the construction of the set of sabers as Imperious watched on with a smile.

After she was done she with the design, Ruby had one final touch, she wanted the hilt to be a bit more colorful than metal left in the white. Taking it apart she had the saber electrostatically plated or parkerized different colors. When the process was complete she had two identical hilts colored with a variety of, red, black, steel, gray and gold.

With her saber complete she went to present it to her master, show her the completed weapon. Though as she was going to leave Malserik's lab for the last time dealing with this saber she saw Imperious was already there with her.

"So is it don, Ruby?" Imperious asked, her words caused Ruby to smile as she clicked both hilts together, extended the hilt in a flourish and ignited the blades on both ends.

"She. Is. Complete." Ruby said as she smiled at her former master, who smiled back. Ruby's saber looked to be a fine craft. It was a saber that fit who she was, it was her creation, something born of her passion. Imperious was quite impressed with the design, commenting on it with,

"Most Impressive, Lord Rose. I expect you to put her to good work," Imperious smiled personifying the saber. As Ruby deactivated the saber, separated the hilts, and went to click the sabers to her belt, Imperious stopped her with a hand on the shoulder, as she had one more gift for her apprentice, a shoulder harness like her own, allowing Ruby to have her sabers stored under her arms. It was specifically made for Ruby's form. Crafted from fine leather, the straps were made to be adjusted so it could fit her even if she grew more.

Ruby immediately fitted the harness and clipped her Saber's to the two loops on the harness. Imperious smiled to see her wearing something that would Identify her as her former apprentice. With her gift given, she wondered, _I wonder what Malserik got for Weiss?_ While Ruby pondered _I wonder if Weiss is done with her saber._

* * *

While Ruby was going insane building her saber, Weiss made one of her own taking the bent hilt design that she was fond of. Knowing what she wanted to build which was a three crystal mechanism like Ruby's design, though she was working on making a saber that could use dust like her old rapier, Myrtenaster. During her design process, Weiss designed single shot dust camber system for use of dust along with a slow burn dust feed to give her blade less powerful but longer lasting elemental effects.

Though unlike Ruby Weiss took a more hand crafted style to her lightsaber, not going insane with the design of her saber. She made it fancy along with functional, using hand tools she decorated the parts. Hand forging parts for the saber from phrik ingots, then cutting them, shaping them, then polishing them to perfection. She was in the lab and work shop with Ruby, but they focused on making their own sabers, as not even Weiss could pull her gear head dolt of a girl friend away from the machining tools.

Weiss had admired the labor of crafting her own weapon, alas her father did not let her make Myrtenaster on her like she wanted too, though it still was a handcrafted masterpiece. She wanted this saber to be just like her old weapon, a hand crafted masterpiece. Malserik was watching over his former apprentice watching her work, Malserik enjoyed to watch Weiss work she was calm over the forge, almost like a young Jedi padawan building their lightsaber.

For the successor to Myrtenaster, she thought the name Mitternacht was appropriate which was old Atlesian for midnight. As she christened her saber, Malserik gave Weiss a gift for her saber. The two other crystals she needed for her saber, though they were not the synthetic crystals she originally wanted. Instead, they were a Permafrost crystal, something Weiss thought was so beautiful and a Firkrann crystals, something that felt live with electricity, as Malserik knew how she broke her saber on Korriban. As she mounted the crystals into the hilt, Malserik watched with great interest, though he had to stop her when she started to do it by hand, he told her,

"Use the force to assemble your saber, it will help the crystals tune to you," Weiss heeded this advice as she finished her saber. Malserik watched as she assembled the rest of the parts around the crystals and take the now completed saber in hand, snapping it out of the air. Her first test ignition was a success. The three crystals could handle the blue blood shard that came from Ruby at all the settings. The edge was a deep dark blue with an Ice blue core. Malserik was impressed by the blade, though he couldn't help but be reminded of the Jedi as he looked at Weiss, who smirked as she held her completed saber in hand.

"Excellent, Weiss," Malserik said with a smile, as he rested a hand on his former apprentice's shoulder, "Now you are a true Sith lord in my eye,"

"Thank you, my master," Weiss replied calmly.

"I am no longer your Master, Weiss" Malserik announced, preferring to think of Weiss as an equal now, rather than his apprentice. This caused Weiss to smile as she affixed her saber to her belt. Now it was time to test her Saber. though before she could leave the room to smash some training droids, Malserik blocked the way.

"I understand you are eager, but Imperious and I had a deal, when you and Ruby became lords, we would give you a gift, to reflect you where our apprentice" Malserik explained, wanting to curse Imperious, for this silly idea, but what he came up with was more than adequate for Weiss, Who had raised and eyebrow at what this man was saying. "My gift is very personal and dear to me, but I feel you deserve to wear it as my successor if I am to fall, Weiss," Malserik announced with pride as he took a necklace with a Viridian crystal attached from his neck an put it around Weiss's neck. Weiss was shocked at what her former master was saying and doing, Malserik had shown her that necklace before, it was the one he wore his entire life, and where he sourced two of his lightsaber crystals from.

"I hope you don't mind the burden of being an Heiress again?" Malserik asked as Weiss still looked shocked at her former master. She didn't know what to say to this, her mind was blank. Though her mind was going crazy, _He trusts me enough to lead Hiskal? And his Necklace the one thing he has left of his family?_ Though seeing the viridian crystal on her neck she had her response,

"I do not mind, but you trust me that much?" She asked just for clarification.

"I in fact do, Weiss, I am happy to call you my future successor and my apprentice," Malserik admitted, at first he thought she was going to be a spoiled brat of an apprentice, but she proved him wrong. She was a respectable Sith and an excellent student. Ruby wasn't horrible, but she fit more with Imperious than she did him. Weiss opened his eyes, he was tired of being isolated on this mountain, he wanted friends and love. Seeing Ruby and Weiss as a couple reaffirmed this even more as a pang of want surfaced in his mind. Though he was unsure of how Ceres, Ruby's master, and the woman he admired dearly, would respond to this, if she would have the same feelings he had for her, but he had to try at some point. It was at this point when Weiss was dismissed and Malserik returned to his study leaving the workshop.

* * *

Weiss didn't want to practice with her new saber yet, she had to inform Ruby of this most recent development. She was hoping Ruby would still be in the lab, but alas she was not. With this in mind she returned to their residence, as she opened the door, she was greeted by Ruby who sitting on the couch relaxing, though the second the door hissed open, she was over the back of the couch and in front of Weiss. The rapid action startled Weiss, but the look of excitement on Ruby's face told her all she need to know, She wanted to see her saber.

Weiss clicked Mitternacht off her belt and handed it to Ruby, who examined the hilt and the feel for a few moments before igniting the icy blue blade. The look on her face was one of appreciation, like someone admiring a piece of art as she handled the blade. She liked how the saber paid homage to Weiss's rapier. While Ruby was busy being a weapon nerd, Weiss noted Ruby's belt was empty, no sabers mounted to it which prompted her to ask,

"So where is your lightsaber, Ruby?" Weiss inquired as she had heard from Malserik that her saber would have issues, but she was in formed that she had them working and she figured Ruby would want to show off. Ruby looked at Weiss with a smile as she handed her Mitternacht back, deactivated.

"Don't worry, she is done," Ruby said as she threw her arms out, flaring her cloak out dramatically to show the hilts mounted on their harness on her chest. Ruby used the force to draw the sabers and ignited their blades, the powerful sound of the ignition startled Weiss, as the deep bass filled hums of the blades filled the room. She saw the blood red edge with the rosy core. "Weiss, say hi to Rose De Sang!" Ruby smirked with joy and pride as she showed off her sabers.

After the obligatory showing off at the hand of Ruby, the two sat down at the table in quarters and decided on having dinner. while the food was being prepared Ruby decided to go and find Pyrrha, so the trio could eat together. With Pyrrha and Ruby there, Weiss told them about her being the next in line to govern Hiskal if Malserik parished. Ruby smiled, her girlfriend and Malserik got along quite well over the course of their training, so his trust was not that surprising. What was surprising, however, was that he gave her his necklace, something Ruby didn't much care for, as it could be easily misinterpreted and taken the wrong way. Ruby just hoped it didn't mean what she thought the misinterpretation was. Especially for Malserik's sake, lest he wanted to upset both herself and Imperious.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was this chapter, this is the completion of the Tomb Witch sub arc. Next up another reunion, this time with the Jedi. Then we have the War Maiden sub arc. Basically, sub arcs are what I will be referring to the old chapter's as, as I get 4-5 chapters out of them now.**

 **As for the events of this chapter, Ruby and Weiss now have their possibly final lightsabers, Rose De Sang and Mitternacht, Both of which I designed and can be found on my deviant art 'BlitzingRaptor' on Deviant Art! Warning for spoilers their though I as some events yet to come are on other character's lightsabers.**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**

 **Edit: I had some more ideas and a few fixes to make for this chapter, mainly pertaining to Weiss and Malserik. I wanted to show a bit more trust between them. along with a few other things**


	19. Chapter 19: Father and Daughter

**A/N: Well here we go Chapter 19: Father and Daughter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Father and Daughter**

* * *

While Ruby and Weiss recovered Pyrrha on Korriban, On Tython In the past months Yang and Blake had been stuck helping Summer train up a new Padawan, she was the one that came through the vortex, though she still had no recollection of who she was or where she came from. So for the year, she had been here the Jedi gave the blinded girl a new identity, she was now Karlile White. She was sweet and always willing to learn, Yang thought she was almost becoming like Ruby in many ways, sweet and innocent. The older padawan dawned herself in white Jedi robes, like her master, Summer even gave her a red cloak to give her some color.

To Yang, this infuriated her to no end. To her, this was a heresy as to her only Ruby could pull off a cloak like that. In reality, summer gave it to her to prevent people from seeing her stark white damaged eyes. Eyes blinded by slag over a year ago. Over her training, many of the Miraluka Jedi helped her adjust to the life of a Jedi, as a padawan she constructed a very weird lightsaber, one that was pure white in its blade color, almost blindingly so as Blake and Yang compared its brightness to that of an annoyingly bright florescent light.

Over time, Yang and Blake had been dispatched on a large amount of missions earning their fair keep of scars. The largest being the one Yang had on her back, as she took a blaster bolt to her back when her aura was down. That was in a long drawn out fight with a gang of scum on Coruscant. Something Yang got a leather jacket for which she decided to wear over her tunic making her look like a normal civilian. It was a gift from a handsome and dashing rogue of a smuggler that gave it to her as a gift for helping him out. With all of the outfit changes she still kept Ember Celica and Ruby's sword on her back. Blake, on the other hand, kept the same outfit deciding to keep it simple.

Summer had called Yang and Blake into her chambers with Karlile, entering the red decorated Room, Summer greeted them as they took their seats.

"I'm sorry to bring you here on such short notice," Summer spoke calmly, her apology was due to the duo of BY returning from their most recent mission to Coruscant an hour earlier. Though, what Summer had to tell them was of utmost importance. "We have a mission to Alderaan, apparently someone is claiming to want to speak to me personally, and I wanted you two to be there-"

"Who is it?" Yang asked interrupting Summer, cutting her off mid-sentence. She could tell Yang was going to be impatient with this, so she decided to lay it on her.

"Taiyang, he gave the code I gave him if he ever found his way here so it's him," Summer explained this fact caused Yang's face to light up with joy.

"Is Ruby with him!?" Yang asked, only to be disappointed as Summer shook her head.

"Will we ever find her?" Yang groaned, as her fury boiled forward, she had enough with waiting. "or is that why you have Karlile, to replace her," Yang accused harshly, as, from all the things that she had been seeing from Summer, that is what she could interpret.

"Yang, don't ever suggest that!" Summer gasped losing her cool, her fists clenched at the accusation. She hated that accusation, as it wasn't the first time she had heard it.

"I will agree with Summer, Yang I don't think she's trying to replace Ruby," Blake said bringing the former brawler back in line with a calming hand on her shoulder. Though she could notice the similarities that were forming, the red cloak especially.

"So are we going to link up with Dad?" Yang inquired after taking a few moments to calm herself. Many in the order still considered Yang a loose cannon, to which she still somewhat was. They told Summer she was way too violent and hot headed to be a Jedi, though, in the time she had been a Jedi, Yang was leveling out and gaining control over her emotions.

"We are, so if you three would follow me, I will take you to our ship," Summer said, happy she could finally get her ship back in the sky again. Walking down the hall she walked with a bounce in her step to the hanger. The three Jedi following her, to the hanger bay doors which opened allowing the group entry to see the ship Summer had, and Yang were laughing at the piece of junk called a ship in front of her, while Karlile smiled and Blake was disinterested.

"Mom you have to be kidding! this ship is a piece of Trash!" Yang said through her laughter as Blake looked a bit concerned at the state of the orange and silver ship. Karlile seemed excited at the prospect of space flight. Summer was offended by her step daughter's disdain of her ship.

"Don't bad mouth this ship, Yang, she's seen enough bloodshed and action, and never failed me once," Summer explained smiling, "this is the one and only Ebon Hawk,"

"Well still looks like a piece of junk" Yang sighed "I will say the orange is quite _hawk_ though," Yang continued with a pun that caused the three other Jedi to face palm, Summer said in her head, __thank the force she isn't a Sith, her puns could send someone to the dark side.__ Blake groaned at the horrible pun and looked at Yang whose grin was almost splitting her face. The four walked into the ship. Its interior was adequately sized for what it was worth. To Yang it looked like complete garbage nothing like the ships most other Jedi got, the Defender, now that was a ship yang wanted, heck she would take a Thunder Clap over this ship. While Blake Karlile and Yang got situated they felt the ship roar to life as Summer plotted a course to Alderaan. The old bird lifted off its landing gear and roared into the sky, once in orbit they jumped to hyperspace.

* * *

The Hyperspace travel was awesome to Yang, it always was. Though, shortly after getting situated on the ship, this annoying Astromech droid kept beeping at her. She had seen the droid before but never interacted with it. She had dealt with droids like this one but this had to be an older model that hadn't had a memory wipe in a while. The droid's excessive beeping.

"Beep Boop to you too!" Yang yelled as she pushed the droid with her foot considering how aggravating it was to have this thing following her. Blake and Karlile were amused by the droids antics as it seemed to be toying with Yang. She had to take a moment to calm herself after doing that. Going towards the cockpit followed closely by the droid "Hey mom, you didn't tell me that we have a droid who wants to kill me on board," Yang said as she entered the cockpit.

"T3-M4 doesn't want to kill you if he wanted you dead he's got plenty of things to kill you with. In reality, you can't understand him, he's saying he likes you," Summer said as she never got Yang a binary translator so to her T3 would sound like a bunch of beeps and other various noises.

"Well, could he leave me alone?" Yang asked as she returned to the main hold, T3 was not following, a line of beeps and chirps came from T3-M4, "Yes I know T3 it has been a while, but just lay off her, she still has a lot to learn."

Another line of whiny beeps came from the droid.

"Just be glad I managed to convince her not to care about her hair, Trust me T3 she could be a lot worse," Summer spoke to her droid companion.

The droid gave a few beeps with few other various.

"No. I was not that bad," Summer laughed at T3, who beeped back at her, "Okay maybe I was," Summer said cautiously, thanking the others didn't have translators as T3 said some pretty obscene things for a droid, along with a thing or two that she didn't want Yang to hear. "And no that thing with Revan was a onetime thing," Summer said quietly and unconvincingly with a blush on her face. Causing T3 to beep back, and Summer said obviously annoyed at the droid "T3 Shut up. Now." This caused T3 to get off her case. She didn't want to think about Revan or Ruby right now.

In the main hold, Blake was reading a holobook while relaxing in the lounge in the main hold. Karlile was pacing with a slight limp due to her metallic leg, twirling her lightsaber hilt, unignited, in the air, and every time she caught it her metal hand reverberated. Yang was thinking back to her continued training, it wasn't as rough physically compared to the others, it was more mental training for her. She couldn't get angry, she couldn't form attachments, she still cursed how the Jedi made her cut her hair but in a lightsaber duel, a Sith who knew how she thought, could and would abuse that weakness.

Though her main worry was over her little sister it had been a well over a year since she last saw her and the fact she was out among the stars alone most likely. Yang thought of all the places she could have ended up, the worst being dead of course. That's when Yang thought, would I even recognize Ruby, she's probably grown a lot, would she recognize me? The one thing that made Yang was uncomfortable with the idea of Ruby being on some back-water planet as some Hutt's play thing.

The same thought applied with the nightmares she was having, one was where she was cleaving through waves of Sith troopers when her blades stopped in one Sith trooper whose helmet fell off underneath was Ruby. That dream horrified Yang, as it made her think 'what if Ruby was involved with the Sith?' Then there was that one dream, where she saw Ruby with Sith lord behind her and she watched as she saw the Sith impale her with a lightsaber, that damn saber, it was always the Sith from her vision the day when she was knighted, the blood red blade was taunting her. Then those gold eyes, they instilled a deep primal fear into her, and Yang hated it. They were unnatural and wrong.

Blake was ostracized at times for her amber colored eyes, but these gold eyes were caused by the dark side. Yang could tell by how they looked, they were evil. Though one of the main things that concerned Yang was how Ruby and Weiss seemed to be a thing after they thought they had died. These ideas made Yang question the legitimacy of their relationship or if it was Weiss just taking advantage of Ruby. She didn't know why she thought that but it was one thing she thought Weiss would be capable of, taking advantage of someone. Yang swore if Weiss was abusing Ruby she would run Ember and Ash though her chest. This thought made Yang inspect her two sabers they weren't much to look a,t though they did take aesthetic elements, Ember Celica. Despite this, the violet blades were nice to handle. Despite the fact, she still wasn't that good with them yet, and the fact she still instinctively punched things with Celica didn't help her case.

Blake looked over, sensing something was wrong with Yang, She was worried about her partner. Most of the time Yang was troubled by her thoughts and worried over the well being of Ruby, not that Blake didn't, though, she didn't let it trouble her like Yang did. Yang by many Jedi was considered to be a hazard, capable of falling to the dark side due to her temper, even with her temper and semblance Yang managed to avoid the dark side so far which to the Jedi was impressive. Blake was known for hiding her faunus ears but her Jedi training taught her to let go of such trivial things. She respected Summer but according to Yang, she had changed since she last saw her. Summer attributed this change to her taking up the role of Meetra Surik again, though Yang thought it was something in her changed her personality. Blake, however, just thought it was the stress of impending war. something that would stress most people out.

"So what are you reading, Blake?" Karlile asked sweetly despite some who was supposedly twenty-three years old she did act a like a child. Innocent and caring, just like Ruby in a way.

"It's information on some saber staff fencing techniques, it's interesting," Blake said still looking at the datapad reading some of Satele Shan's notes. For a Jedi Blake was more acrobatic than most considering running on walls and doing other force assisted acrobatic maneuver's in combat were second nature to her now. Comparatively out of the lost four she was the most balanced of them Yang was a brute, Jaune was a swordsman, Lie Ren was the major force user as he enjoyed the prospects of the peace the force brought him. She was in the middle she could use the force but she used her blade just as much. Candlelight is what she called her saber staff due to its candle flame-colored blade. Blake even added a low power mode so she could use it as a light source for reading without fear of burning things. She even added little legs that could be deployed at the emitters so she could set it up as a lamp, to other Jedi it was ridiculous to her it was nice. Yang made a joke on Ruby's 'It's also a gun,' line for her Saber, 'It's also a lamp!'

* * *

The Ebon Hawk rumbled as its hyperdrive dropped them out in orbit of Alderaan. Summer got clearance from Juranno, the location Taiyang's transmission was sent from. The others came forward to the cockpit to watch the descent into the atmosphere, the view of Alderaan was beautiful. It only got more beautiful as they descended, Blake had only dreamed of such beauty and majesty of nature from her books. Yang was amazed at the sheer awe and majesty the planet conveyed as they flew to the surface. Karlile could feel the life and serenity of the planet but she could also feel the tension of the scars of the great galactic war. The feeling of that chilled her to the bone, strife, anger, hatred, and malice, she could feel it all.

After gently touching down on the landing pad, Summer lowered the ramp and got the three girls ready to go. Walking out, Yang, Karlile, and Blake were shocked by the clean air of the planet, it was like Tython. Though looking around the spaceport they saw troopers and ship crews, they all walk with a nervous attitude. The troopers looked ready for battle, The four women walked through the starport looking for a certain cantina, which they found. leaning outside on the door frame was a familiar yet now bearded face. Yang, unable to control herself ran up and slammed into her father hugging him, yelling out as she did.

"DAD!"

"Yang! you're alive!" Taiyang yelled lifting up his daughter in a spinning hug of reunion. His eyes on the verge of tears as he thought she was dead, and long gone "Man you have changed!" He smiled as he put her down.

"Don't forget about me" Summer smiled walking up lowering the white hood of her cloak. He face carried a slightly flushed visage of

"Well good to see you got my message," Taiyang smiled calmly to Summer hugging her tightly. Looking over the shoulder of Summer he saw a blinded young woman he didn't recognize though she looked familiar and then he saw the cat faunus that was a member of team RWBY. Releasing Summer, Taiyang asked, "So who are those two?"

"The one with the red cloak is my Padawan Karlile White, and the other is Jedi shadow, Blake Belladonna." Summer said gesturing to them. Something seemed off about the Karlile girl, due to the way her eyes were covered and she looked oddly familiar. Something he took careful note of. While Blake looked very similar to the images he saw prior

"Also, Yang you cut your hair, why?" Taiyang asked of his daughter as he never ever would have imagined her to cut her hair.

"I needed cut my attachments, I'm a Jedi myself now," Yang said smiling when Taiyang frowned and said, as Taiyang noted the sword on his daughter's back. "I told you, Summer, I didn't want Yang to get involved with your mystical Jedi nonsense," he said looking at Summer, slightly angry.

"It was my choice dad," Yang said as it really was her choice she wanted to be a Jedi to help find and protect Ruby.

"Alright I'll take your word for it, Yang, I take it we can talk on your ship?" Taiyang inquired walking to her ship, he laughed as it was an older model of the ship he was part of the crew on which was an XS stock light freighter, this ship was a Dynamic-class freighter. Summer grumbled at Taiyang's chuckling. Once situated on board, they began their recap of the past year and a half.

* * *

"So what happened with Ruby while we were gone," Yang asked as this is the first news she heard in a long time about her sister minus that image.

"She got formed into a new team, PRWN I think, though they called themselves the Black Knight's," Taiyang said calmly relaxing in the main holds couch, "You had Ruby, Weiss Pyrrha and one other girl I forget the name of, crazy redhead."

"That would be Nora," Blake spoke calmly adding to the conversation.

"That was her name! Thank you," Taiyang smiled, glad to be reminded of her name, "Well with this team, Qrow and I noticed a massive change in how Ruby was. She distanced herself from everyone, she didn't message me once after your supposed funerals," Taiyang continued glumly, though he was happy to have Yang back. "But then Qrow and I started getting messages from Weiss, she was updating us on Ruby, though it became apparent she fell hard for Ruby and Ruby fell hard for her, apparently Ruby and Weiss have a merged aura, that's at least what Qrow got out of Ozpin."

"So Weiss wasn't taking advantage of Ruby?" Yang asked calmly.

"No far from anything like that, Weiss was serious about being with Ruby, and I talked Weiss on a few occasions, she was very kind to Ruby." Tai said not having much bad to say about her but Yang was like that doesn't sound like Weiss, "though Amity was the weird thing that got us stuck in this mess, all the participants are scattered throughout this godforsaken galaxy."

"So what happened at Amity," Yang asked unknowingly pulling a pin on a grenade.

"Okay, something happened at Amity, I don't know what exactly," Tai spoke slightly choking up as he spoke as this was a sensitive topic for him. "Ruby and her group were sent in first everything started to go according to plan, then everything went belly-up from there, the four of them lost their weapons while fighting Cinder and her goons. Then something happened as they all fell unconscious, someone did something and they woke up with lightsabers in hand-"

"What color?" Summer interrupted Tai.

"Three red, one blue" he responded "Weiss was the blue," Tai said knowing the implications of such weapons. This caused Yang Summer and Blake to look at each other.

"That doesn't mean anything does it?" Yang said calmly trying to un-hear what she heard.

"I'm afraid it gets worse Cinder revealed her nature as a force user and had her two apprentices blast everyone. That's when Qrow tried intervened that's when someone by the name of Adam killed him," this got Blake's immediate attention, she knew Adam was dead but she didn't know what had happened, "that caused Ruby and Weiss to do something I never thought they could do, They killed Adam," With that Blake hung her head in shame and Yang and Summer's eyes went wide. "Then they engaged Cinder in combat while Pyrrha and Nora dealt with her apprentices,"

"Did they use the force?" Summer asked concerned.

"They lifted Cinder off the ground by the neck, choking her, they only stopped when Winter and I reined them in. Then Cinder being the bitch she is blasted them, then detonated whatever that was" Tai said remembering the four girls eyes," Their eyes, though, by Monty," Tai spoke with tears on his face and cracks in his voice. He remembered the experience vividly

"They were glowing yellow weren't they?" Summer inquired quietly, resting a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder.

"They were," Tai responded, remembering Ruby's eyes vividly; he had been trying to repress the memories of that sight. This caused Yang to ask,

"so what does this mean,"

"If this is true, my worst fears have been confirmed Ruby has fallen to the dark side," Summer said looking down at the floor, distraught.

"So when did Ruby lose her arm?" Yang asked trying not to remember the fact, as Blake went back to the Crew quarters she needed to be alone though Karlile felt her pain and went to go calm her.

"She lost an arm!?" Taiyang asked, shocked at the news. It was at that point he remembered the glance he got at his daughter after Cinder blasted her. He didn't want to believe what he saw so much that his brain repressed it due to the shock. Her arm was metal. Though he only caught a glance of it before being blasted into the vortex

"Yes, we found her arm along with her sword on Tython," Summer explained dreary from the thought, she regretted not keeping and preserving the arm, but her taking interest in it would be a liability for Ruby, she wanted to keep her family as private as possible.

"Before the detonation, she had a prosthetic hand, I don't know how, but she did," Taiyang said as Yang sighed as apparently, she had something. Though Summer was distraught by this idea, as prosthetic were generally not well constructed, and the loss of flesh leads to a weakness in the force.

"So what does this mean?" Yang asked concerned what all this could mean for Ruby's fate. Though she knew one thing was true, she need to find her as soon as possible

"This means Yang, Ruby knows how to use the force as a raw entity, no training, If she embraced the dark side, at its full, I fear she may never be the same," Summer said glumly. "As for her arm, I don't know"

"Now, we have to find her!" Yang protested standing up, her emotions getting the better of her.

"I know this but I fear it could be worse." Summer said bluntly as she pondered the situation.

"What could make this worse?! What are you going to say?! Ruby could be Sith Lord!" Yang said her shortened hair igniting and her eyes flickering from lilac to red as she slammed her hands onto the holo-comm terminal. She was tired of waiting on finding Ruby, she wanted to find her little sister, and she didn't care what her mother wanted, she needed to find her.

"Yang calm down, control your anger," Summer spoke firmly trying to calm Yang down,

"She needs to vent, Summer, let it go!" Taiyang said intervening as a parent, "I know how Yang gets, let her vent!"

"She is also a Jedi, Tai, anger, hatred and other like emotions lead to the dark side," Summer explained calmly as Tai looked at her like she was crazy.

"Is this that Jedi Code you swore to uphold?" Taiyang inquired with malice and discontent in his voice, remembering the time Summer told him of the code and it's implications.

"The Jedi code restricts one's baser emotions like fear anger and hatred," Yang said inhaling a deep breath, "I will say one thing, Summer," Yang said in a calm controlled rage, "Ruby will not become a Jedi, am I clear, my sister doesn't deserve a burden like this, she deserves better."

"I will agree on, our daughter will not become a Jedi, Summer you have changed so much since you were on Remnant," Taiyang said sounding disappointed with Summer.

"That will be her choice to make," Summer said calmly, "Yang, please for your own sake don't get angry like that."

"You yourself, Summer, walk a fine line according to the council, I'm going to balance myself as a Jedi, not limit myself if that means I have to get angry I will," Yang said as she walked out of the main hold going towards the other crew quarters.

"You have changed too much Summer," Taiyang said following Yang "I'll stay with you as I can fly this ship if you'd like, but I'm staying for Yang's sake, not yours." Summer sighed at this gesturing for him to be with Yang, Meetra needed to think, though she was thankful that her one lie still held, a lie that would turn all of her friends against her. She couldn't let it slip about who Ruby really was. If they learned the truth Yang and Taiyang would fall, Blake would most likely go as well as would the other two of the lost four. The council would turn on her, she would be exiled for the second time in her life, and from what she knew Revan knew about Ruby as well.

* * *

Blake was in the second living quarters, she was sat in the corner staring at Candlelight's blade, _ _Ruby how could you? Weiss why? how did you to stoop so low? I understand your anger and your rage, but feeding those emotions only leads you down the dark path. Adam knew this, I know this, so how Ruby, do you not know this, same for you, Weiss. He may have been a criminal, but he didn't deserve to die. Due to this, I will bring you two to face justice.__ Blake thought news of how Adam died was still shocking to her. The thought her friends fell down the same hole as her old ally did. Along with that, judging from what she heard, it seemed like Yang would do the same, fall down to deeper darkness despite all of the promises she had made. Yet unknown to Blake she was treading the same dark path in her mind.

"Blake, you okay?" Karlile asked nervously, walking up, avoiding Candlelight, despite it being in its ridiculous lamp mode, thus inert but she didn't want to take any chance.

"Just thinking," Blake responded grabbing her lightsaber and shutting it off. Clicking the saber staff on to her belt she sat up and looked at Karlile.

"They aren't good thoughts are they?" Karlile asked sitting down lowering her hood with her uncovered metal hand, looking Blake in the eyes with her stark white scared blinded eyes. Her eyes weren't a pretty sight considering the skin around them was scarred with a domino mask of burns. Despite this deformation, she still had a youthful appearance, though, from medical examination, she was older than both her and Yang.

"Not really," Blake shrugged, she wanted to be alone right now, as she didn't know what to think on the topic, "I would prefer if you left me alone, okay Karlile."

"Hey if you need to talk, let me know," Karlile chirped with an innocent smile, that contrasted with her scarred appearance.

* * *

As they flew back to Tython, Yang's nightmare became more vivid she was dueling the Sith with gilded eyes, torment and fear ran through her mind as she dueled hearing Ruby screaming as she watched Yang duel the demon from the sidelines. she woke up in a sweaty fit when the blood red blade finally impaled her. She woke in a sweat saying one thing, one question on her mind _Who is that and what does she want from me?_

Yang sat up and thought to herself, _I need to find Ruby I'm tired of sitting on my ass doing nothing about it! Doesn't Mom even care anymore or does she fears something will happen to her if she's brought in front of the order? Though my sister is out there and I need to find her. I can't keep waiting for Mom to do something! If she won't act I WILL_! Yang screamed mentally, she will need a ship and equipment if she was to go looking for Ruby. She cursed as most Jedi would tell her to let Ruby go, she was her Sister she couldn't do it. Ruby would need help; she needed her sister before she fell beyond redemption.

"Hey Yang, you okay?" Taiyang asked who woke up in the corner of the hold. he had fallen asleep there after Yang slept to clear her mind of Ruby, but her mind didn't want to be cleared, her little sister was out there. What she heard from her father today just solidified the fact.

When she got back to the temple, she had to petition to become independent from Summer, Ruby could be in great danger, and she needed to find her.

"I am fine dad," Yang replied after a few seconds, turning to face her father, "We need to find her, Dad, and if we do, I think we may have to keep her away from mom,"

"Sadly, I think your right, little dragon," Tai said as he slid over to where Yang was sitting. "I fear she will turn her into a Jedi against her will."

"Dad, if the council doesn't give me my own ship, I am leaving the order," Yang said quietly unsure of who was listening. "And I have a plan of how I am going to do it."

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter wasn't meant to be much other than the reunion of Yang and Taiyang, the next chapter will continue where this one left off, also Chapter 18 got an update. Also, I couldn't really think of a good way to expand this chapter, So I did what could, the next chapter however is going to get a massive update.**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	20. Chapter 20: Traitor to the Order

**A/N: Well, I got this chapter as done as I would like, This chapter was supposed to be 2 chapters but I couldn't keep them separated without giving myself a headache trying to keep the continuity clear so here we go! Chapter 20: Traitor to the Order!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Traitor to the Order**

* * *

Back on Tython, Yang was under intense scrutiny at the hands of the Jedi Council. She had requested to operate on her own, away from Summer or as the council knew her Surik. She was standing before the council all masters were there and present either in person or hologram. Apparently, this event required as the council put it 'careful handling.'

"Care to explain the reason you would like your own ship and commission, Sentinel Xiao Long?" Master Gulliman asked the question on the council's behalf. Yang stood in front of them all like she did when she first was allowed to become a Jedi.

"I would like to be independent of Master Surik and find someone who is of great importance to me," Yang responded not letting any emotion show despite her fear and inner turmoil but she had to try. She glanced at her step-mother, who looked to be fuming at the brim

"We know of your sister Xiao Long," Master Ruus spoke calmly, inside he was cursing as long ago he predicted the call of her family would drag her away from the order.

"We need to find her," Yang said boldly, though her voice quivered a bit, as she said this to the council. She feared their response, and her face bore a nervous look.

"No, think we must find, her you do," the little green master spoke, Yang hated his broken speech pattern it just annoyed her.

"According to my father she could have great potential, yet on Remnant, she may have fallen to the Darkside before coming here," Yang explained, hoping the masters would understand.

"Then she is a threat," one master barked out. this statement made Yang, tense and angered.

"Xiao Long, you are tense and angered," Grand Master Satele spoke calmly sensing Yang's discontent.

"You want to know why that is?" Yang asked critically, "it's because of my Step-Mother," Yang directly pointing a Summer, better known to the council as Meetra, "Refused to find her own daughter, while both my father and I would love to find her as we want to help her!" Yang yelled in an angry rant, blasting the council vocal fury, her hair glowing and her eyes blazing red. A sight that made the room pause. Summer was furious, she wanted to slam her down for this insubordination, this betrayal

"Calm down Yang!" Satele spoke loudly and firmly. Summer sat there, it was like when she was getting ousted by the council during the Mandalorian Wars. though, unlike her Yang had brought this upon herself. Master Artorika was looking at her friend through her hologram, whose secret had been exposed not by a stranger but by her own stepdaughter. Much to the council's shock Yang said,

"Summer you had no Intentions of finding Ruby did you?! You take being a Jedi way too seriously, you lived a double life! Deceiving the three who loved you most! For the council, if you will not work with me on this. I will do it myself!" Yang yelled furiously, as she left the chamber as Summer tried to grab Yang's lightsabers off her belt but Yang grabbed them with her hands, "Ember and Ash are mine, don't try and take them," she hissed. Continuing to walk out of the council chambers, guards tried to stop Yang; she just threw them on to the wall with the force, and then began bolting for the hanger. Taiyang was still in the Hawk, a ship she intended to do something she's never done before, steal, outright steal.

* * *

Running to the hanger using the force to increase her speed, she was in the hanger in seconds. She covertly sent Taiyang a message telling him to get the ship prepped, executing her plan. Though something she did not expect happened, Blake and Karlile stood in her way.

"Yang Stand down," Blake yelled, not wanting to attack Yang, but she had her saber at the ready, just in case Yang did not want to comply. Karlile did the same. They stood there hoping that Yang would stand down, but Yang stood there and said,

"Blake, you know what I am doing," Yang, growled as she unleashed her anger, her hair glowing, her eyes turning crimson. "I have to find Ruby, so please get out of my way, or I will move you."

Her ultimatum rang in the air. Blake was half tempted to move out of the way, but she stood firm, unwavering.

Yang sighed she didn't want to fight Blake, but she had no choice, she had to find Ruby. Igniting her Violet sabers. Blake was shocked that Yang actually ignited her Saber's

"Blake, I don't want to do this, so one last time. Please move!" Yang spoke firmly, she didn't want to have to fight her friend, but she needed to get to the Hawk. After her final warning, Blake and Karlile ignited their sabers, Yang sighed, as she tried to evade the duo by going over them a force assisted jump. Though Blake ripped her down with a force grab. _They leave me no choice,_ Yang thought as she leaped back to her feet.

Karlile was the first to move, charging at Yang preparing at thrusting attack, while Blake hung back. It was apparent that Yang immediately gained the upper hand, as Karlile was not that experienced of a duelist. Though, as Blake watched she Yang's fighting style morphed, it was more uncontrolled, filled with rage.

Blake had to intervene, as Yang's rage blared and Karlile was quickly on the defensive. Blake's target was to hit Yang's lightsaber's to disarm her. Leaping in, she sliced Ash's emitter off, causing the saber to blow out in Yang's right hand causing her aura to pulse as she had to drop the now dead weight. Yang's gaze snapped over to Blake, who followed her attack through with the rear blade, which Yang had to dodge.

The loss of one of her sabers pissed her off supremely. Activating her Ember Celica on her right hand she fired a stun bolt into Karlile followed by a rapid force push that was much more powerful than her usual force abilities. This action took Karlile out of the fight, as she was slammed through a hall window. With her out of the way, she could turn her focus to Blake. Filled with rage the blonde brawler attacked her friend and partner.

Blake tried reasoning, but Yang was too far gone, she was using the Darkside. Yang felt betrayed, distrusted, and worst of all she felt like she meant nothing. She felt like Ruby would be key to all of what is to come, but no one seemed to reciprocate this view, even Blake, who seemingly became a pawn to the council. After the duel continued for a minute both combatants leaped back, and looked at the other, Blake was calm and collecting herself. Yang was furious and glaring at her 'partner,' she needed to get past her.

"Yang, if you leave, you will become the next Malserik," Blake explained, fearing for Yang, and how the council will respond. "he betrayed the Jedi for similar reasons!" though Yang looked at Blake, her crimson eyes filled with anger, though one thing clicked Malserik could be an ally to her, considering the way they are similar.

"I do not care, I need to find my sister!" Yang yelled in response, as Blake charged, though Yang retaliated with a quick force push followed with stun bolt from Celica to incapacitate Blake. Though as she was going to the hanger she heard a voice come from behind her, it was a male voice that was deep and wolfish, a voice she hated.

"Yang Xiao Long," Yang turned around to face the voice's owner, it was Master Ruus, who had his Yellow lightsaber ignited, "I knew it was a mistake to let you learn the ways of the force, and this is one mistake of my superiors I intend to correct, I will not loose any more Jedi to someone who follows 'his' footsteps!" he growled at Yang as he charged. As he charged Yang started to fire stun bolts from Celica as she readied to parry the master's strike. Though the master who was blocking the bolts collapsed as a louder and more powerful blaster shot rang through the halls and hit the master in the knee. Though as he collapsed in front of Yang, filled with anger and contempt for the master she aligned her saber with the Jedi's chest, impaling and killing him.

Looking back Yang saw her father with his blaster out, the barrel smoking, she dropped the now deceased master's corpse onto the floor as it hit her what she just did. She realized she just killed a Jedi in her rage. Though more Jedi temple guards had responded to the battle, and moved from both sides of the corridor, responding quickly Yang blasted force pushes down both directions of the hallway. Deactivating her violet blade, she ran for the hanger door and bolted into the ship with her father as she needed to escape. As they got into the cockpit Yang yelled

"Dad! Get this thing airborne before we have half of the republic fleet on our Ass!" Yang yelled closing the ramp. The ship lifted off the ground ripping off through the air up into space they ripped off into hyperspace the second they could.

* * *

While the events on Korriban and Tython unfolded, On the unknown station, referred to by Revan as the Star Forge, Ozpin was baffled by what Revan told him shortly after he arrived. There was no way what he said could be true. That Summer before coming to Remnant was a very dark person. A fact she hid it so very well. According to Revan she only fully redeemed herself when she had joined forces with him for a second time. According to Revan, She was a fallen Jedi that managed to redeem herself, but she still deceived everyone she cared about.

Ozpin was upset by this idea of Summer being manipulative and dishonest, though he didn't fully trust Revan. He told him what Summer hid from him and the things Summer had done. If they proved to be true, she had lived a lie and played everyone for fools and used the force on everyone she loved. Though aside from the conflicting opinions, Ozpin had a choice to make, would he side with Revan, who was offering to train him, or would he go out into the galaxy to find his students?

Alas, Ozpin made his decision, with haste, he was going to find Summer Rose. he needed to if he was to save Remnant. Revan understood this, even if he thought the man was foolish to go looking all throughout the galaxy for them. Ozpin knew Revan himself was hiding something but he didn't know what. Though during the time he spent there he did meet up with another Remnant on the station. The questionable Raven Branwen, she herself tried convincing Ozpin to stay, but she failed in that effort. Though, Ozpin failed equally in recruiting her for his efforts.

With a ship provided for him graciously by Revan, Ozpin set his sights for Tython, the place Revan told Ozpin Surik would be. The ship was a small private ship that could only fit four people at most. It was equipped with a droid pilot as Ozpin himself couldn't operate the controls or fly this vehicle. Ozpin was grateful for Revan's assistance as he took off, as the droid pilot flew the ship for Ozpin.

"I can't help but feel bad for him. He was an old friend of mine after all, " Raven spoke as she was watching Ozpin board his ship, standing at Revan's side her elaborate Grimm mask covering her face her long black hair draping out the back.

"Yes, he is a lost man, a man who lost everything," Revan said though his mask, from what he learned of Remnant, he could understand the drastic action this man had taken.

"You lost everything too you know," the woman said her red eyes locking with Revan's visor.

"As you have abandoned, everything, so you could go play the role of a petty bandit," Revan quipped back smirking under his mask. he still had a few secret weapons that he hid so long ago, he knew this as he was standing in it. A station long thought to be destroyed. he had moved it using deceptions and Illusions. Something he detested it but he had to hide it not destroy it. Like Meetra, he had a great lie that would need to be revealed, though this was much more devastating. As he betrayed the galaxies trust, while Meetra betrayed her friends, though which was worse, he still debated that. "Though I lost Bastila to time, Meetra to deception, I Just wanted a family, Raven"

"As did I, but things stopped me on Remnant," Raven said calmly, "I had to leave my family, only to find Summer had taken my place."

"I told you the truth about her," Revan said calmly, the Truth of Summer Rose was indeed a gruesome one.

"I know, it's disgusting that she manipulated Taiyang the way she did. She seemed so sweet and pure on Remnant, but being here, I just want to wring her neck for what she did. Also is what you told me about her daughter, Ruby true?" Raven inquired lightly sobbing with each word, her voice coated with pangs of sorrow and regret.

"Yes, it is," Revan said gloomily, wishing none of it was true, "All of it is true," He spoke calmly as he felt Raven's emotions building up.

"Wel, I could never go back to Taiyang, Revan, not with what she has done to him and Yang," Raven spoke, giving up hope. She regretted her time going back to the bandit clan of her birth, as maybe if she stayed with Yang and Tai she could have protected them from her.

"And Bastilla is long dead, Raven" Revan spoke solemnly. "Though, I will meet with Yang and Taiyang soon. They could be of great aid to us." Revan spoke, hoping those two would join them, though he added a caveat for Raven, "And you may be able to reconcile with them, you deserve as much."

* * *

Back down on Tython, after a few hours have passed and the council was fuming. Karlile had a broken leg, Ruus was dead, Blake was in shock at what happened. Now the Jedi Council had Summer in front of them, they were interrogating her, as they knew nothing of what Yang told them, but with the losses they took today, they couldn't risk her hiding this any longer.

"Master Surik is what Yang said true?" one of the masters started to say, hissing her name. Yang had already started to be compared to the arch-traitor Malserik,

"It is, in a certain context, it is," Summer responded her brows contorted with slight anger, she was upset that she had been betrayed by Yang. Someone she raised and trained, someone who wanted a brighter future for her sister, had just turned dark.

"Why did you not inform us that you had a family, you know we would've helped you," Satele spoke worried for her friend, She could understand her reasons, having a family of her own, she realized the lengths some would go to to protect their families.

"As I have been exiled once, I didn't want to be exiled again," Summer said expecting the entire order to betray her again like they did after the Mandalorian wars.

"Let go of that fear Surik, you can trust us," Satele said at the white clad master, much to the chagrin of the standing council, who wanted to oust Surik, though they knew Satele would stand in their way. "This council knows the state of the galaxy, and your expertise is needed, though, we want to hear about who your daughter is."

"I'll tell you what I know about her, I was ripped away from early in her life," Summer admitted beginning to explain what she knew about Ruby, though she withheld one major fact, her father.

* * *

On the Ebon Hawk, Yang, and her Father sat in the cockpit. They were tense as Yang and Taiyang's plan was a success, though they expected a republic fleet to be hunting for them, now.

"I hated having to do this dad," Yang said gloomily, struggling with her inner turmoil, she had used the Darkside, and killed a Jedi in her rage. It scared her how quickly the darkness could consume someone, how it made her act, how it made her feel. Though she liked how it felt, the power was amazing.

"As did I, but that woman is not the woman I fell in love with. She is I'm guessing Meetra Surik now, not Summer Rose," Taiyang said coldly, he used to love that woman back on Remnant but now she was an uncaring machine. He was concerned for his little dragon considering she repeated what her sister did at Amity, but he could tell those Jedi wanted to kill Yang and decided not to talk about it.

"Yeah, she mentioned her past in this galaxy," Yang explained solemnly.

"Of course she did, I barely know anything about what she did in this galaxy," Taiyang said reminiscing on the secrets she kept while on Remnant. She didn't like it when he asked about her past as a Jedi. She was always pushing him away, when he asked, nervous deflections and outright dismissal. That was beside the point now, "So, where are we going?" Taiyang asked, unsure of where they were going.

"I guess we need to find this Malserik person? Maybe he could help us?" Yang pondered as her father had no idea what she was talking about. With that thought in his mind, he asked quite?

"Who is Malserik?"

"Apparently he is a person like me, he left the order though he killed a lot of people when he did," Yang explained, She really didn't know much about the former Jedi other than where he went and the biased opinion of what he did.

"So where is this Malserik?" Tai asked unsure of how he felt about Yang going to meet someone who seemingly killed a lot of Jedi. As it stood they had no options, so he would take Yang were ever she needed to go so long as this ship held up.

"From what I heard, he's on Drommund Kaas," Yang said nervously, she didn't want to defect to the Sith, she just needed help. Her father was not too thrilled about the idea, something Yang knew was going to be an issue, but maybe he could help her. It was a gamble but it was one she was willing to take.

Her father was concerned, though, before he could get too deep in thought on the issue, Yang tumbled over out of the seat and onto the floor.

The pain in Yang's head was immense little did she know someone contacting her. A booming voice in her head spoke __"I feel your scorn and hatred for Meetra Surik, daughter of Raven Branwen,"__

"How do you know that name?" Yang asked aloud, her father jumping to her side as she clutched her head. Though, this voice sounded familiar to the blonde, now former Jedi.

 _ _"I know many things, as we speak that T3 unit will be redirecting you to my location, do not stop him, we need to talk."__ The voice spoke and the pain ended as Yang recovered from the peril of that voice. "Holy shit that was weird!" Yang cursed sitting up. "Apparently plans have changed, someone is redirecting us using that T3 unit."

"Can we trust them?"Taiyang asked calmly as Yang got back into the chair.

"He called me the daughter of Raven Branwen, meaning he knows who we are," Yang explained wondering who that voice belonged to, "And I think I may have talked to this guy before"

"This could be interesting," Taiyang said as the droid beeped and chirped, confirming the change of course. The location was deep in the unknown regions of space. This concerned Taiyang as only those who truly wanted to disappear went there and looking at the coordinates, they were going to the farthest reaches of it.

* * *

A few weeks later on the Ebon Hawk, Yang was sleeping as the flight dragged on, she felt pain anger as her vision changed from her battling that Sith to something more sinister. Instead, she found herself battling herself, as the golden eyed Sith stood behind her duplicate referring to the doppelganger as her apprentice. Her duplicate was a disturbing sight to the former Jedi, her skin paled to a near paper white, her eyes locked in their red state surrounded by dark shadowing, her hair faded to silver, her clothes blackened and very Sith-like. Ember and Ash modified carrying red crystals. She dueled herself red blades on purple. Her doppelganger had a wicked smile on her face as their sabers clashed.

"You could become powerful!" the doppelganger taunted, "You could be so powerful! You could be deadly! You could become a force of vengeance, you might even be able to save your sister!" She doppelganger struck with every sentence but with each bit more of anger Yang embraced she felt power welling up inside her. As she struck the killing blow it was not on her doppelganger it was on her present self. She watched her own head roll as she became the doppelganger, her violet blades now a brilliant crimson. Normally after seeing a sight like that, one would normally wake up from the horror of sleep; no, Yang's torture wasn't done yet. She turned around to see a red masked man standing behind the gilded eyed Sith next to Summer, though a massive figure was towering over them was what almost looked like a knight clad in black armor overshadowing them with a black skull-like helmet.

It was at this point Yang woke up in a cold sweat. Her mattress drenched in sweat, she sat up wondering, _What the hell was that?_ Yang asked herself. _Is this how my life is supposed to go or is this a warning? Why was Summer behind that Sith in my nightmares and who the hell was the man in the red mask, was that Revan? A man Summer spoke highly of, she said he could still be alive and return_ , but Yang dismissed that thought if that was him what did they have to do with that woman? On top of that who was that man in the background? Then most importantly why did gold eyes call me apprentice? Yang was puzzled by her dreams.

"Yang you okay?" her father asked standing at the circular door, "You were screaming in your sleep."

"Sorry, another nightmare," Yang said slumping over, onto the bed.

"Want to talk about them," Taiyang said approaching her daughter's side.

"Sure" Yang spoke sitting back up going over to the next mattress, "I think there may be something going on with Summer, more than anyone knows" Yang spoke as her father sat down next to her in the sleeping alcove.

* * *

Ozpin sat relaxing on the ship, he was nervous, he was worried for the fate of Remnant. He worried about the Grimm and the strain they caused. he worried about how much farther down the rabbit hole he would have to go to bring back all of the students lost in Amity

Pulling out of hyperspace over Tython, a transmission blared to Ozpin's shuttle. "Unidentified Vessel, you have entered Jedi space, please identify yourself."

"Please inform a Master Surik, a Professor Ozpin would like to see her," Ozpin said coolly into the comm panel on his shuttle. He was nervous as the shuttles panels blared with weapon lock warnings. Though he trusted the Jedi would not shoot on sight, at least he hoped as much. A few minutes passed until he heard an excited voice on the other end of the comms.

"Oz is that you?!" the voice asked, alarmed and excited.

"Yes Summer I am here," Ozpin spoke calmly, "We need to talk, now."

"I've cleared you for landing, sending up the coordinates now" Summer spoke as the droid pilot brought the ship down to the planet. Summer sounded very excited, she and Ozpin were very good friends, after all, though she and the Jedi were still reeling from the betrayal of Yang. Though Ozpin was less excited, he was calm collected, reserving judgment for Summer till he could confront her. __By Monty if what Revan said was true, So help me, the force couldn't do anything to repair the pain you've given us.__

* * *

Within the hour after Yang woke, the Ebon Hawk pulled out of hyperspace near a star. Immediately, Yang and her father saw the massive station orbiting above it, a sphere with three fins attached to it. The T3 droid guided the ship into a hanger of the dark station. Touching down the ramp opened calmly, the T3 droid led them through the maze that was the station. The corridors seemed to be tainted with the Darkside of the force; though Yang was uneasy she was not scared. After a few hours of wandering through the maze, they found themselves standing in the large room almost seemed like it was meant for meditation. Though Yang felt the darkness. it was unlike anything she had felt before in her life. Entering the room, father and daughter walked towards a set of figures in the center.

"Glad you two could join us," the hooded man said revealing his red mask, a dead give away as to who it was, it was Revan. He ripped Ember from Yang's belt as a secondary figure with a white mask ripped Taiyang's blaster away. Though Yang readied her body to prepare to use Ember Celica again.

"We mean you no harm, my love, and my daughter," the second figure said placing both Tai's blaster and her mask on the floor revealing her face to the duo, Yang's mother, Tai's first love, this made them very uneasy along with the sheer shock of the fact Raven was standing in front of them.

"Yang Xiao Long, Taiyang Xiao Long, Welcome to my refuge, our refuge, The Star Forge," Revan spoke calmly he did not want to cause the Xiao Longs to freak out.

"I thought the Star Forge was destroyed?" Yang inquired about the inconsistency, as calmly as she could just the presence of both her mother and Revan made her very uneasy.

"The Republic thought it was destroyed, but it was far from destroyed," Revan said as he took off his mask revealing his scarred face and gilded eyes. "Well I had some assistance to hide this station far away, force based Illusions are tricky to combat on that scale, but it worked" he continued with lowering his hood and wearing a smirk on his lips.

"Why did you want us to come here?" Tai asked of both Raven and Revan.

"You seek Ruby Rose, Do you not?" Revan answered with another question. They both responded with a synchronized,

"Yes," Revan smirked as he continued, "yes your beloved daughter Taiyang, and your dear half sister, the pull of family is strong isn't it? That girl has a large affinity for the Darkside, you know?" Revan spoke, his cold words almost taunting them. "Though she is not by any stretch of the imagination related to you two, she is not your Daughter" Revan pointed at Taiyang, "and she is not your sister," Revan spoke as he pointed at Yang, Who charged at Revan with rage pulling his saber off his belt using the force igniting its crimson blade. Though Revan flicked his wrist and slammed her to the side as Raven pinned her with a force grip on her wrists and ankles. Revan was openly smiling at Yang, who broke her mother's force grips and jumped back onto her feet. Bolting back a Revan he pulled his Purple bladed saber from his belt and clashed it on the red blade Yang now bore. "You are falling, Yang," Revan spoke of the crackling of the locked blades,

"let us be civil about this," Revan smiled pushing her back with a kick and deactivated his saber, giving Yang the option is if she so desired, to kill him.

Taiyang had to restrain Yang from doing this, her hair flaming her eyes burning red like the saber in her hand. After a few moments, Tai yelled, "Yang hear him out, let us hear him out."

* * *

Returning to Tython, Summer was quivering, __How does Ozpin know about Ruby and Revan, how does he know Atris, and how did he know what I did on Remnant.__ Internally Summer was panicking, she was sweating bullets as Ozpin kept inquiring, this kept tearing her further and further apart, though one thing that Ozpin kept asking was "Why?"

"You want to know why Oz?" Summer said her head hung down seemingly ashamed, with her actions, though Ozpin could see she was feigning her sorrow.

"I would love to know why because your body is saying to me everything Revan told me is true," Ozpin spoke calmly with a slight tinge of anger in his voice letting the name of the person who informed him of this slip.

"I feared no one would have accepted her," Summer admitted with a deep shame in her voice "So I did what I had to, to convince everyone she was just a normal girl on Remnant. Even if that meant rewriting the memories of everyone I knew and cared about," Summer continued with a bit of tears and quivering though Ozpin thought there was much more to her reason than that. Summer cursed as if Revan unlocked his memories she couldn't rewrite them again.

"You betrayed our trust using abilities that altered what made us who we were," Ozpin accused harshly, standing up he was fully angry now, he could understand Summer's nurturing instinct towards Ruby, but Ozpin thought there would be a bit more to her than she was letting on. No, he knew there was so much more to Summer than she was letting on, Ozpin could tell she was hiding some plan. "Now if you don't mind I would like to speak to my students" Ozpin spoke, as Summer told him about some of his students before they reached the confines of her private quarters.

Ozpin left Tython highly disappointed, the Jedi were oblivious to his suggestions of trying to get him and his student's home. Not that he could blame them, they were in a reprieve from war after all, and their resources were stretched thin. Though It was Summer who concerned him, he met with Lie Ren and Blake they seemed quite content as Jedi though Blake was very uneasy with Ozpin, though he found out that Yang. like Summer, Blake had some ulterior motives in her head. Remnant could very well be burning and there was nothing he could do. He needed to get back to Revan to inform him as he seems like the only trusting person in this damn galaxy.

* * *

Returning to the Star Forge Yang and Taiyang could barely reason what they heard from Revan. Summer's past as a Jedi, her contributions in the Mandalorian wars, the blood she spilled reunifying the Jedi order, she did all of this while she was young, that's when she disappeared to the galaxy along the same time as a Jedi named Atris. Returning a few years later finding her way to Revan to help him fight Vitiate. according to Revan, she was quite distraught, at the time but she went to face the Sith emperor, though during that time she and Revan had a bit of an affair, a sexual one that led to the conception of Ruby, as Revan would have it. This affair was born of Surik's manipulation of him.

During the battle with the emperor, she got hit with a vortex attack that ripped her back to Remnant, that's when she showed back up on Remnant. Both Taiyang and Yang at this point very skeptical as she had no memory of this occurring, that's when Revan put his hands on Yang and her father's head. Unlocking, like a deadbolt in a door sliding back, the memories of Summer's return flowed alongside those that seemed fake now, Their memories had been altered and reworked to accommodate Summer having been there the entire time. She did all of this to hide Ruby's secret one not even Ruby knew. Yang cursed Summer, the hatred for her was paramount, she was at the metaphorical door of the darkness, from these thoughts.

Taiyang was so fiercely angry with Summer, and rightly so. Revan explained Summer specialized in the alteration of memories. She had used this ability to great success in the Mandalorian Wars. Then in the reformation of the Jedi, she severed her use of this ability, but she regained it before the battle with the emperor. That's when they found out Summer put them through this elaborate pain of altered memories just so she could leave Ruby on Remnant so she could return to the galaxy to forward her own motives. Taiyang was wishing Summer had just told him the truth and told Yang the truth. No, she violated their minds just to hide such a trivial piece of information. Taiyang would have raised Ruby the same either way and Yang would have still loved her like a sister. Despite all this Revan kept Ruby's location a secret.

This made Yang spit on the Idea of being a Jedi now, she wanted to learn more but not from a Jedi, she knew who must train her, Revan. As Raven and Taiyang caught up discussing what they should do. Yang approached the solitary Revan after having minutes to think, she walked up to Revan.

"Yes, Yang?" he asked without even turning around his mask removed and his face revealed to Yang, that's when she looked into his gilded eyes, they matched the woman in her dream's eyes, though Yang did not question this fact, despite it creeping her out.

"I need to continue my training," Yang spoke clearly hoping training under one of the greatest force users of all time could help, "Could you train me?"

"I have completed your mother's training young one, and I can train you, though are you willing to walk the thin line between light and dark is the main question?" Revan asked of Yang who looked back up at him her eyes turned red.

"I am willing," Yang responded her heart blackened by deception at this point she wouldn't mind if she ended up a looking like that doppelganger in that dream of hers, she just wanted to find Ruby and get revenge on Summer for her treachery.

* * *

After Yang got settled in, Taiyang and Raven left on a mission Revan tasked them with. Yang had begun her training under Revan and she was sweating through her robes, Revan's training was pushing her to her breaking point. She kept going, though she started to focus more on a unique form of Jar Kai now more than ever. The training was rough and Brutal pushing Yang closer and closer to darkness. Yang didn't know Revan's goals for her training though Revan smiled at her determination and her moral compass. She was skilled against droids, she would be a force to be reckoned with for any Jedi or Sith she faced. __She will be perfect she will be the one I can trust to take up my mask if I fall.__ Revan was known her original Jedi training was rushed, to say the least, but Revan would finish it, though it would take a few years to do so.

* * *

Summer stood looking out her chamber's window, meditating on her predicament, _Revan you turned against me, you know my secret now, but not my plan, Traya you told me on Malachor that Remnants will bring peace to this galaxy, I know now what you mean. Every person who crosses the vortex to Remnant gains the ability of Semblance and Aura, though this is the first of many benefits anyone born on Remnant is force sensitive to varying degrees. Though, something on the planet represses it, only unlocking with training and recognition._ She knew one thing no one did, Remnant itself must fall victim to coming through the vortex, before the galaxy can have peace, and Summer knew how she was to obtain galactic peace, she had to have an army of Remnants trained to be Jedi, when Remnant comes through the force will be able to balance itself. Though, she had a few more years to stall for, all she could hope for is that the Empire knew nothing of the sort.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was Chapter 20, As I stated in the opening A/N this chapter was originally meant to be** **2 chapters, one dealing with Ozpin the other dealing with Yang, I combined them as I couldn't figure out how to make the continuity work. As for this chapter, I wanted Yang's escape to be a bit more dramatic, and give her a taste of the Dark Side. As for Ozpin, I wanted his scene to remain the same. As for the content of this chapter, this is one of the big plot points of the story, Ruby's father is Revan. As I said back in Chapter 5's A/N "** **I based this Idea off of the whole Qrow + Summer = Ruby theory but I took it another notch up to eleven by making Ruby's true father one of the most bad ass star wars characters ever made. With that cat out of the bag, Summer's Web is unraveling, Ozpin ripped her apart. Taiyang and Raven are working together again. Then you have Yang a Jedi who abandoned the order, much to her comrade's dismay, I really was thinking about keeping Yang a Jedi but it really doesn't fit with her character, so I gave her a Master who could really get her up to snuff.** **" I also wanted to ingrain how much of a boogeyman Malserik is to the Jedi at the given moment, hence why Yang is being likened to them.**

 **Next chapter: the Nora sub arc begins despite this chapter containing a majority of parts from Chapter 5.**

 **Well, I am going to do something a bit different I am going to reply to some reviews as frankly, I feel they should be addressed.**

 **Hornofdesolation: You and me, both. Trust me I want to get to that point as well and I am going as fast as I can trying to get to that point. I want to get there myself! I mean really that was one of the key factors in me doubting the rework, but from what I can tell people are liking it so I am going to hold the course!**

 **Amerdism: Ruby's arm was not preserved, and Cloned limbs are a thing, (Cite Darth Krayt + the Yuuzhan Vong) though I don't know who possessed cloning tech in the time of The Old Republic, besides her prosthetic, has a unique role to play with Ruby, so I am going to say her prosthetic will stay, though that is a very interesting idea! Also, I went back and clarified the insinuation of them still having the arm as the Jedi would not hold on to a severed limb at random like that, it was not my intention to make it seem like the Jedi hung on to it.**

 **(I think I have adopted a copy paste outro.)Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	21. Chapter 21: To Capture a Maiden of War

**A/N: Alright sorry for the delay, exam week is here and I have been trying to prepare. With that out of the way Chapter 21: To Capture a Maiden of War!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: To Capture a Maiden of War**

* * *

Though, after two months had passed from Yang's betrayal, elsewhere in the galaxy more Jedi were being thrown at the War Maiden of Tatooine as she was being called by the Jedi, a feral dark force user causing trouble across the planet, subjugating, plundering, looting, and more various heinous acts. In route to deal with her was Jedi Master Artorika Bladedragon and her now close friend and fellow knight Jaune Arc.

They were tasked with this mission a few months after another Jedi by the name of Edrik had failed to report in. Assuming the worst the council sent in the mobile heroes of the order. Jaune personally was still reeling from the shock and suddenness of Yang's betrayal. Though after what Artorika told him, he couldn't blame her, she wanted to find her sister, something Jaune could not fault. Though, he found it distasteful that she had to use the dark side to escape. What Artorika found the most disturbing thing to arise from this matter was the comparison of Yang to Malserik, something completely unfair, Malserik went looking for violence, wherein Yang's case the Jedi responded with violence.

Artorika knew Jaune did not take this news well, as four had become three. Also according to Surik, Yang and her father bolted right for the unknown regions of space, something that puzzled all of the Jedi. Though Surik's theory was she could be trying to link up with Revan for some reason, an Idea that made Surik distraught beyond belief, for some reason. When she and Jaune returned to Tython, they would have to talk to Surik to figure out what was going on.

As for right now, they had a mission to tend to, They had rested with the ship in orbit around Tatooine, as last time Artorika was on the planet she had to chase off some scavengers trying to loot her Defender Class Corvette. When they woke up, the two Jedi ate a hearty meal then packed up their gear on to their swoop bikes. They were going to gather information in the town of Anchorhead to assess the strength of the war maiden's war band, along with land their ship there to protect it against what Artorika called 'those foul cloaked rodents,' or better known to the population of Tatooine, Jawas.

Jaune had just finished packing his camping rations and tent. He was nervous as this war maiden was a cold-hearted killer of Jedi and civilians alike. He had heard the rumors of what she was capable of. She was apparently very skilled in combating lightsabers with her light pike which bore a unique pink blade. She had great power and strength in the dark side of the force. If those rumor' were to be believed, and the Jedi had no reason to doubt them.

"Are you ready Jaune?" Artorika asked as her normally blue robes and armor were switched out for more rough tan and brown ones. One thing Jaune learned from his master, be prepared for any environment and situation. Artorika despite being a Jedi did have robes and armor for every environment imaginable. Though unlike the dress like formal Robes, these had trousers meant for riding a Swoop bike, something Artorika was known for in the order. Like his master, Jaune had a tailor craft up variants of his robe and taken to riding a swoop bike of his own.

"Yeah, just finishing packing my field kit," Jaune replied with a feigned smile on his scarred face. If that was one thing Jaune liked, it was that scar that blue Sith gave him. When people saw it they saw a Jedi willing to fight, not some kid pretending to be a Jedi. The scar gave him some respect and authority among some of the Jedi many due to how he got it.

"Well we are going to check in with a few contacts in Anchorhead before we head out," Artorika informed the young Jedi, "I want to know exactly where we are going beforehand." She announced, as their last mission turned into a wild goose chase after a lack of intelligence, and Artorika didn't want the same blunder to happen twice. Jaune could only hope the people of Anchorhead would cooperate, though from what he read in the report, they would be more than likely to help.

Though out of all the things that made Jaune nervous about this mission, firstly it was rumored the War Maiden had access to Aura and Semblance or what seemed like it, from what some of the reports read. _By the force, if the war maiden is a Remnant,_ Jaune thought to himself, the thought someone he knew could become a marauder like that, frankly terrified him. Then the second part of the mission, she was to be taken alive. They were given strict orders from the council not to kill her, under any circumstances.

"Jaune, I know that she could be a Remnant, I understand if you want to remain in town," Artorika commented, she knew how Jaune would respond, though she wanted to give him the comfort of having the option if he wanted it.

"Artorika, you know I won't do that," Jaune replied, no matter how nervous he was, he wouldn't back down, that's not what Ruby would do. There were people to be helped, he wasn't going to let his nerves keep him down.

* * *

After his gear was stowed, Artorika set the course for the starport in Anchorhead. The descent was gentle, no major turbulence, the only major threat to them was a sandstorm. Though, looking at the surface from orbit, they could tell the weather above the town was clear. The touchdown was gentle enough. Having their basic field gear on their person they left the ship and walked into town. The town wasn't that large, nor was the cantina hard to find. Jaune stayed outside of the 'wretched hive of scum and villainy,' as Artorika put it. He didn't mind being outside. he stood next to the door with the Aqualish bouncer, who didn't seem to want to chat with a nosy Jedi.

Inside Artorika was talking with the patrons of the cantina, trying to gather intelligence on the war maiden and her camp. They seemed to be very cooperative, providing very good information that connected with her reports. Though, some of the patrons did seem

Despite confirming the information, she remained, as there was an ulterior motive for her being there. She was meeting up with one of her contacts that provided her with information on Sith operations. Her contact was a cybernetically augmented smuggler that ran an information brokering operation on the side, though as of late his services have been sanctioned by the republic, giving him access to Republic agents. Artorika saw her contact in a booth sitting alone. She could tell it was him by his silver arm, his metal eye, and his distinct coat. He gave a quick hand gesture over to the knight letting her know to take a seat

"Well met, Dyet," Artorika smiled as she sat down in the booth, "I understand you have information for me?"

"Correct, " he replied pulling out a datapad, and laying it gently on the table, "it's a bit of an interesting situation that I got wind of from Korriban, take a look." Hearing this, she picked up the datapad, glancing down at the screen. what she read disturbed her, apparently the Sith had been struggling with a feral force user that lived in the tombs. According to the report, the Sith had difficulties with dealing with her. The one thing that she read that concerned her was the that Volitika, Velocitous, Imperious, and Malserik's apprentices were the ones, to take her down, the one thing that made her concerned was how the report showed that Imperious had taken up an apprentice.

Darth Imperious was a character that was feared by the Jedi as she was a massive unknown. Her abilities, her fighting style, her goals, motives and now an apprentice, all of these unknowns concerned the council greatly. The council would do anything for info on who she is and where she came from, as she is so different from all of her counterparts, from what the Jedi knew, she did her own thing, though their intelligence had reported how Darth Malgus, along with a few other high ranking Darths expressed concern over her operation and anything that 'concerned' Malgus was of concern to the Jedi

"Am I correct in assuming you have no information on Imperious?" Artorika inquired of the smuggler as she set the datapad down on the table and slid it back.

"No, I have some but it isn't much, apparently she has relocated her base of operation to Hiskal," The smuggler replied, this response made Artorika tense up. _Hiskal, Malserik's City, don't tell me she is..._ Before she could continue that thought, Dyet continued with an added point, "Apparently she has teamed up with you know who, again. Also, our two agents in Hiskal have been extremely quiet as of the past year or so,"

"Have Dornettz and Balikor been compromised?" Artorika asked, as those agents were the only way she could keep tabs of her old friend, though they were there to keep an eye on Hiskal in general, though as close as they were to Malserik, they still had to play it safe.

"No, apparently they are keeping quiet as to not arise suspicion, as they are in the gundark's nest, frankly with the amount of Sith around them, and the fact apparently one of them can 'see' deception, they are being extremely cautious, and I don't blame them," Dyet explained as Artorika's mind snapped right to another fallen Jedi, Jaesa Willsaam, a Jedi who could open anyone's mind. She joined up with a Sith by the name of Darth Destrus, the Empire's Fist. If the Sith have another person like Jaesa, on their side that could become problematic later down the line, especially if this person knows how to use their ability. Returning to the discussion at hand Artorika asked,

"So, Dyet any information on the War Maiden?" Artorika inquired, just to see if he had any further information that could help her cause.

"Minus that she isn't a sand person, and location, the only thing I have is that I heard she can speak basic, so you can communicate with her," Dyet replied, he was kind of baffled by the inquiry as the War Maiden wasn't of any major concern to the Republic Intelligence network. Dyet himself even wondered why the Jedi were so concerned about her in the first place, she really didn't pose a threat to the republic.

"Well then, if that is all, fair travels, Dyet," Artorika smiled bidding her ally farewell.

"You too, Artorika, be safe," He replied pleasantly as she stood up and navigated her way out of the Cantina.

* * *

Jaune was on the verge of dozing off as he sat outside, Artorika was taking a while in the Cantina. He managed to find a chair as he watched the crowd in the town's streets. _These are the people I am protecting,_ He thought, _People who have children and families, people who can't stand up for themselves against someone like the War Maiden_. Jaune thought as a little girl no older than nine or ten darted over to him with her mother in toe. Who was saying something about 'not bothering him' as they approached. Jaune sat up as the girl drew close, and looked at the pair.

"Are you a Jedi?!" The girl asked cheerfully, she was excited and happy, almost reminding Jaune of Ruby, if that was one thing Jaune thought was impossible it was how Ruby could become a Sith, a theory he outright dismissed. _Her a Sith, Ruby would never,_ Jaune thought. Turning away from his memories, he addressed the little girl.

"Yes I am a Jedi, young one," He smiled nervously as the little one looked happy and joyous, while the mother had the look of 'what did my daughter get me into,' written on her face. Though not missing a beat the girl started a barrage of questions that Jaune couldn't keep up with easily. He did, however, after having a lengthy conversation with the Girl, Artorika had walked out of the Cantina, though she did catch the tail end of the conversation.

"Artorika, are we ready to go?" Jaune inquires as he sees his former master walk out of the Cantina.

"Yes, I feel we have enough information, Jaune," Artorika replied as she asked, "So who were you talking too?" She asked quite curious of his interactions with the local population.

"I was talking to some girl and her mother, apparently her daughter is really interested in Jedi, so I decided to let her know about the heroes of the Republic," Jaune smiled as that girl was so happy to talk to a Jedi finally. He admired her spirit, she was passionate about the Jedi, alas that is one thing Jedi's can't have passions. The reason for her passion was apparently when she was six she was rescued by a Jedi, something that told Jaune she wasn't force sensitive, despite the odd feeling the girl gave. Ignoring that feeling, she was still pleasant to talk to for a spacer kid. According to her mother the Jedi that Rescued her daughter was Anderon Alik-zander, which was odd a Jaune only thought the giant of a healer remained in the temple, Jaune made a note to ask Artorika about this when they got back.

"Well that is pleasant, normally our work goes un-thanked," Artorika replied with a smile as they walked back to the spaceport to retrieve their Swoop Bikes. From some of the information she had gotten, the War Maiden and her crew had been scouting out Anchorhead, so this had become a priority to remove her from power, as to avoid Tatooine losing one of its most valuable settlement.

Returning to their ship, the Jedi quickly rounded up their things and got ready to set out on the desert. Though before they left the ships protocol droid warned them about a sand storm that was just starting to crop up, it was to the west of the location of the War Maiden's camp and that was to the east, so when they got there they would be riding into the storm.

"So are we going to wait for the storm to pass, Artorika?" Jaune inquired, curious of what she thought of the situation and what their course of action will be.

"We will set out as planned, though we will mask our faces," Artorika explained as she pulled out some spare fabric, and started to tie the wrap as she tossed another bolt of fabric and a set of desert goggles over to Jaune who proceeded to wrap the mask and goggles around his neck himself, once completely covered Artorika and Jaune departed on their Swoop bikes.

* * *

They walked down the ramp of the ship with their swoop bikes, Jaune's was a standard Republic model. While Artorika's was extremely modified for enhanced speed and maneuverability, though she also had custom bodywork installed to give her bike a unique look and style, fitting her knightly appearance.

Once they had their Swoops outside of the spaceport and on to the streets of Anchorhead, they mounted their bikes and tore off, darting through the sandy streets and into the desert. They maintained a close formation as they rode over the dunes of scorching sand.

Jaune was never one for vehicle's before his training under Artorika, as he had a tendency to get motion sick. During his training, Artorika helped him cope with such a weakness. She got him used to flying and riding on various high-speed transports. Now he could keep up with his master on a swoop bike, and even engage targets in mounted combat, whether it be off the back of a creature, or on a swoop.

Artorika, however, was known for her prowess on the swoop bike. If anything it was a hobby to her, a passion, something the council allowed as she understood where to draw the line with it. She loved going fast, as it allowed her to get to her destination efficiently. She also loved how she could feel the air rushing past, feeling the hum of the repulsor lift engine, she was having fun, something Jedi didn't do that often.

"Jaune stick behind me we will be entering a narrow canyon soon," Artorika announced as she the canyon started to emerge on the horizon. Artorika heard from the locals that the canyon would put them within walking distance to the camp, along with that there was a cave to hide their bikes from the sandstorm.

The Duo whipped through the sandy canyon which narrowed to a pass, the roar of the repulsor lift engines echoing throughout the rocky walls. The confines were close, a few meters of error on either side, one negligent twitch of the controls and one of them would smash into the rocky walls of the pass. Artorika had done things like this before, in her opinion forests and jungles were much worse. For Jaune, this pass was nerve racking, he felt like one clumsy mistake could be the end of him. He couldn't help but smile when they reached the end of the pass and the cave they were told of.

* * *

They couldn't have gotten to the cave at a more perfect moment, as the sandstorm was just about to funnel into the pass. Stowing their bikes they took their spare face wraps and goggles, and put them on. With their equipment stowed in the cave and all skin covered from the torrent of sand outside their hideaway, Artorika asked "Jaune are you ready to continue?" Her voice was muffled by the wrappings, but she was still completely understandable.

"Yes, let us go," Jaune smiled nervously under his mask, just hoping that the sand people's War Maiden wasn't anyone he knew. He held the cross hilt to his face giving a light prayer as they walked out of the canyon.

Walking up to the camp they kept their lightsabers on her belt, concealed from the raging sand and prying eye. Using mind tricks they skated past the main contingent of sand people, unopposed. Disguised by illusion and their clothing they entered the main hall formed from a krayt dragon skeleton. It was at this point Artorika applied an area of effect mind trick, tricking all the sand people to clear out their War Maiden's court.

The War maiden to note of the two intruders, under her mask she smiled, and due to the conforming nature of her mask, this smirk was visible to the Jedi down below. Her eyes bright and wide with a brewing insanity beneath her Grimm-like mask. Looking up at her Jaune couldn't tell the identity of the maiden, but she was intimidating. Artorika even found herself nervously grabbing her the hilt of her lightsaber.

"Oh look, another soon to be Sloth," The War maiden chuckled at her, readying her lightsaber pike, igniting its pink blade. Jaune's mind locked at the sound of that voice, despite the low rasp and tone, it sounded like his former teammate Nora. With the ignition of a lightsaber, the Jedi replied in kind with the ignition of their own weapons.

the girl smiled wickedly under the thin black face mask. The red tinted glass showing her eyes brimming over with insanity. Making random noises the feral woman charged with her pink ignited pike. Artorika parried cross guarded gold lightsaber named "promised victory." Parrying the first strike Artorika engaged on the offensive trying to cut the shaft of the pike, though the girl was quick on redirecting that attack while shifting her attack to the Jaune. Jaune static blocked her attack, something he regretted as her attack hit like a train.

"I love how you sloths covered your faces," The war Maiden hissed in a taunt as she did something strange, she charged herself with force lightning. It was at this moment the young knight was certain that this was his lost friend. He leaped back to avoid her next attack, which was very much like the swing of a hammer. To respond to this Jaune ripped his face wrap off along with his goggles exposing his face as he said,

"Nora, it's me Jaune!" This announcement caused the maiden to hesitate for a moment allowing Artorika to get a quick strike in on the mask on the girl's face, slicing right off while she was distracted. This allowed the bindings keeping her hair contained to fall to the floor, exposing her head. both Artorika and Jaune saw her face her eyes blazing orange, her hair a dull light orange, her skin paler than any Sith she had ever seen. Her lips blackened, her eyes shadowed. Though, her skin was unburdened by blackened veins and mottling and wrinkles one would associate with someone this immersed in the dark side of the force. though she bore bold black tattoos on half of her face, that looked slightly worn in.

She was beautiful in her own feral way Artorika thought. Looking at her face that's when Artorika saw no mark on her face, that's when she saw a pink pulse behind the girl telling her one thing she was a Remnant, to Jaune this was a confirmation of what he already knew. The look of shock on Nora's face changed from shocked to pure unbridled fury.

"How dare YOU!" Nora yelled as she charged the two Jedi, as her pike clashed with Jaune's blue one, she continued, "How dare you claim to be Jaune, slandering his name, and his Memory!" Nora yelled, ranting as she fought off both of the Jedi. Artorika and Jaune both managed to get hits on the War maiden, though her Aura took the hits. This made things a lot more complicated as the duel continued as they had to take her alive, no exceptions.

Figuring this duel was going nowhere fast, they leaped back and unleashed a massive force blast, slamming her into a rib of the greater krayt dragon skeleton. The Maiden, however, recovered quickly. though Artorika slammed her back, again and again, Nora tried breaking the cycle, but she could not, with each blast, She felt her aura fading with each blast. They saw her aura dissipate, allowing Jaune to pin her to the ground. Holding her to the ground, he ripped her lightsaber from her hand as he disengaged his own. Jaune regretted the action's though they were necessary, as this Nora, wasn't the Nora he remembered. Clipping their saber to their belt they restrained the feral darksider. Artorika injected her with a large dose of sedative to keep her quiet and unconscious till they could get her on a more secure Republic ship. The sand people cleared out of the Jedi's way as they carried the unconscious girl back to her swoop bike.

By this point the Sandstorm had died down, Jaune had secured Nora to the back of his swoop bike. He was thanking the force she wasn't snoring, as the sound of her sleeping could overpower the roar of the Swoop Bikes. The young Jedi was shocked that Nora could do the things she did on Tatooine, the killing, the plundering, _what had she become?_ Jaune asked, and if this happened to Nora, he feared what happened to Ruby and the rest of them. _Nora had become a monster, a villain, someone who hurt innocents, someone corrupted by power, especially considering the sand people looked at her like she was divine. Why? How? How could someone so sweet become like this?_ He asked himself as they rode back to town.

* * *

Watching the Jedi retreat from the Sand people camp through the sight of a blaster rifle, a man smiled. He tapped his communicator,

"Watcher 4, this Cipher 57, The War Maiden has been captured. Relaying all know information, Jedi Captor, Artorika Bladedragon, plus one Blonde Male Jedi." the agent said with a finality in his voice, he was a cold professional.

"Good work Cipher 57, I will file the report and activate the bugs on her ship. Relocate and await reassignment." The agent's handler said as she started to formulate the report for the Dark Council.

* * *

Returning to the Defender-class ship, the townsfolk of Anchorhead cheered the Jedi as they saw the unmasked War Maiden resting on the back of Jaunes swoop. The people wanted to parade her body through the streets but the Jedi wouldn't allow it, as she was unconscious, not deceased, something the Jedi were working hard to keep secret. Once in the ship, Jaune was still in a state of shock at the state of his friend. They secured her in the med bay, activating the energy door while locking her onto the table in the off chance she woke up.

Jaune severely disliked and disagreed with how she was to be restrained, but he understood the precaution, considering how Nora went ballistic hearing who he was. It was in that moment he realized, to her, he was dead, long dead.

"Jaune, I know this must hurt, seeing your friend like this," Artorika said as she approached Jaune who was standing looking into the med bay to watch his friend.

"It does, she was my teammate, and Ren's partner," Jaune explained looking at Nora, who despite her corrupted looks, looked quite peaceful. "So what happens to her now?" Jaune inquired, unsure of the answer he was going to get.

"They will most likely hand her off to Surik, and let her alter her memories," Artorika admitted, she did not much care for this new redemption tactic, but it was a necessary evil at this point.

"We can't memory wipe her," Jaune protested, he wanted her to come to her senses naturally, not artificially. Besides, he wanted to know what she knew of what happened on Remnant.

"That is what the council will do I'm afraid unless you can convince her to join us willingly," Artorika spoke with disdain, Jaune knew that she would help as much as possible, but this was to be his burden.

"I will convince her and if I can't Lie Ren will," Jaune replied nobly accepting the task. "I will go on to the Republic Cruiser with her so she isn't alone,"

"You are a strong friend now Jaune, I am proud of you," Artorika said giving her permission for what Jaune wanted to do. "This is hers she will most likely want it if you convince her to become a Jedi," the queen of knights said as she handed Nora's lightsaber over to Jaune. With that out of the way the Jedi Master, sent a message to a ship named the Pride of Alderaan, though unknown to her she sent out a carbon copy, right to Imperial Intelligence.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was Chapter 21: I really don't have much to say at the moment, minus I wanted to add some more stuff for Jaune to do before things happen to him. Along with that I also wanted to put some espionage into this chapter, as this does take place in the Cold War of the Old Republic, so spies on both sides. Thing pertaining to the status of the story is on CH1 right now.**

 **(Responses)**

 **Hornofdesolation: I am glad you are enjoying the revisions so far!**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to** **ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	22. Chapter 22: Plots of Deception

**A/N: Ah, Well here we are, "Dark Side of a Rose" is one-year-old. With that in mind here is Chapter 22: Plots of Deception! (See Chapter 1 for my full A/N on the one year birthday of this story.)**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Plots of Deception**

* * *

Only hours after the capture of the War Maiden, word of her capture had been making the rounds around the empire. Imperial Intelligence had been keeping an eye on her for a few months by this point, and some Sith were even thinking of 'uplifting' for a higher purpose. The intelligence on the War Maiden had just circulated through the dark council, though it was Imperious, who was back in Kaas city to maintain appearance, who realized who this girl was. Who she was, the fourth girl. Nora Valkyrie, the fourth piece of the prophecy. Normally one could not tell as her face was hidden by the mask she wore but like the other three girls, she wore the belt, the red belt with the knife. Imperious knew what the Jedi would do to her. Considering Imperial Intelligence had gotten information on what the Jedi had been doing to captured Sith or traitors to the order.

They would wipe her of who she was and then make her a cookie cutter Jedi, they did it with Revan, they did it to many who had fallen to the dark side and could not be redeemed. It was a disgusting thing the Jedi had implemented to counteract their own from falling to the dark side, though lately any one dark sided was subjected to this atrocity.

Though, among the Dark council, this was looked as the Jedi potentially embracing the Dark themselves, as the ability to rewrite memories was inherently Darksided. According to intelligence, it was one Jedi who did this, so the Dark Council concluded the Jedi must have degraded their standards or embraced the darkness.

This meaningless drivel didn't interest Imperious, the state of the Jedi wasn't of her concern. She was anxious she could possibly be sitting in the council chambers. Deciding she could get caught up with personal things later, she left. She needed to get back to Hiskal as soon as she had a plan down.

Leaving the dark council chamber's Imperious returned to her sphere. She needed to plan her actions carefully, she couldn't send in Ruby and Weiss as they stood, they would have to be disguised so nothing could be plainly tied to the empire, lest she want to ignite a war, a war she was working hard on preventing, till her plan could be seen through. Her train of thought was interrupted by a voice she knew all too well due to the damn respirator.

"Ah Imperious what are you scheming now?" the voice asked barreling out of the respirator.

"Nothing you need to know, Malgus," Imperious hissed, turning around to face the imposing figure that was Malgus. Her hands grasping for her lightsabers, Castle and Jackal, ready to draw them at a moment's notice on the tyrant.

"No need to be hostile, I have no intent on ending your life yet, you traitorous witch," Malgus growled at the signs of her immediate aggression towards him. Imperious still clenched her sabers, as the force storm's lightning cracked above her head. "your friends will die first and when you are the only one left and wishing for death will you have my permission to die," he taunted as Imperious knocked the brute out of her way with a shoulder strike. Malgus was one of the main enemies of her plan. He almost seemed to know it too, as he had frequently started to taunt her though due to his status shecouldn't, touch him and he could not touch her. Despitethis they both had plans for the empire that involved killing the other.

* * *

After escaping Malgus's presence, she walked out of the citadel and looked out over the City as she walked to the Taxi terminal. She was thankful one of the automated taxis was at the station, depositing a credit, she boarded the airspeeder and flew off to the shuttle terminal, reviewing her plans for the war maiden in her head she made her way to the shuttle terminal. _I can't let the Republic know the Empire was involved in this, disguises will be needed, I wonder if Malserik still has that piece of junk light freighter, if he does they could look like smugglers, the force knows how the republic loves smugglers. They probably wouldn't even expect them, Republic Intelligence, is nothing compared to its Imperial counterpart,_ Imperious smirked, _Ruby is going to love this_ Imperious admitted to herself as the taxi pulled in to the shuttle terminal.

With her plan Hatched, she got out of the Taxi and walked into the bustling terminal. From Darth's to commoners, the Shuttle System was the most efficient mode of transportation in the empire. She prepared to take the next shuttle to Hiskal. Though, as she was about to board the shuttle, she was shocked to find a panicked Malserik waiting in the terminal for her.

Darting over to her friend, who had taken his airspeeder all the way out to Kaas City, she asked of her dear friend, "Malserik what's the matter? What are you doing here?"

"Come with me, what I have to say isn't something the public should hear," Malserik said as he led Imperious back to his airspeeder. Imperious was extremely confused as to Malserik coming to Kaas City. This action surprised the Darth, as Malserik never, Never left Hiskal. Once in the Aerocar Malserik told Imperious, that the shuttle she was to return to Hiskal in had a trap laid for her by the group that had just made an attempt on Waldstahl. It was Malgus's order, the Dark Fists, yet again. It was at that moment, Imperious realized why Malgus was being more obnoxious than usual.

"So, how did you find out about this scheme," Imperious asked as the airspeeder lifted off the ground, though before Malserik could respond a large detonation rang through the Shuttle Terminal. Malserik sighed as he had effectively saved Imperious.

"Ruby got a hand on the Darth that led the attack," Malserik smiled as they began the flight back to Hiskal, "Needless to say, she found out about a lot, hence why I am here, besides that, I found out something important about Ruby, Weiss, and Miss Nikos."

"What would that be?" Imperious inquired, as she wanted to know anything that related to her young friend.

"I'll tell you when we get back to Waldstahl, you wouldn't believe me if I told you now" Malserik stated, he knew she would like to see proof of what he had to tell her, he couldn't believe it himself. Who Ruby was had now been revealed to him, though before he could continue, Imperious said something that shocked him.

"Well then, I look forward to what you found out" Imperious smiled, She knew Malserik must have something incredible to share if he is holding off on sharing it, "But I have news of my own, I found the fourth girl," Imperious smiled, as Malserik got the console's holo-comm open, dialing all of their Scrolls.

* * *

In Hiskal, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha were sitting up at the snowy overlook on the fortress. They were relaxing after the defeat of their third Darth along with four other Lords, though this was a major attack on Waldstahl, not Hiskal. This attack was aimed at them and Malserik. Ruby, knew Malserik would make it in time, though she couldn't help but feel the relaxation was preemptive. She wanted to go with Malserik, but he wanted the knights to be at Waldstahl if some more Sith showed up.

Over the past two months, Malserik and Imperious taught Weiss and Ruby some very advanced force techniques like a force lightning field and advanced force illusions. While this happened they also taught Pyrrha what they knew and she didn't, along with Pyrrha teaching showing them how to unlock secrets of holocrons and other various Sith artifacts. Something Malserik only gave them basic knowledge in, Pyrrha on the other hand actively taught them how to utilize the full power of the Holocrons.

The three effectively trained each other. Though, the thing that really touched Malserik and Imperious's cold hearts, was how they had fun doing it. To most Sith, joy, and friendship would be considered a grave weakness, to these girls it was a strength beyond belief. The Trio supported each other in battle, not letting one fall.

With the information Ruby recovered from the Darth, it was obvious somebody was plotting to kill Imperious, hence why Malserik left with such haste to meet with Imperious, though he seemed quite frantic with something else before the battle, as he was doing a genetic examination to check the girl's lineage as force users. Something that concerned the girls as they wondered _Did he find something?_

Waiting for Malserik to retrieve Imperious, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha, sat underneath the gazebo discussing the battle, though the main thing they were discussing was, what they had witnessed. Malserik in battle, this was the first time any of them had seen him fight at his full, demonstrating SturmKreig's full potential as a lightsaber. The reason for the topic was they were trying to take their minds off of the stress and anxiety of Imperious's potential demise.

"Why do I expect you to build a saber like that now Ruby?" Weiss inquired as Ruby was enthralled by SturmKreig's rotary ability. If one aspect remained of old Ruby, it was she was still a nut for weapons. This was apparently more than ever, considering the seventeen-year-old girl was trying to figure out how the system worked for her knowledge. Though before Ruby could retort, Pyrrha slid a comment in.

"I'm surprised you haven't let her do any work with Mitternacht, Weiss," Pyrrha interjected teasing her, "you afraid Ruby would do something you don't like. She did some wonders on Aurum-Lamina." Pyrrha smirked at the white-haired heiress of Waldstahl, who remembered Pyrrha commissioned Ruby for assistance in the rebuilding of her saber.

* * *

About a month prior, Pyrrha's shoddily built saber had started to deteriorate due to the parts not being built to withstand the power of an unstable blade, something Pyrrha swore upon keeping. asking Ruby for assistance on rebuilding her saber. Ruby was more than happy to assist with this task.

Ruby had Aurum-Lamina apart in minutes, she could tell the saber was made from scrounged parts and parts of less than stellar quality. all Ruby felt comfortable recovering from the saber was; the cracked orange crystal the cable and some of the circuits, minus that Ruby was going to have to start from scratch. Using a much more potent battery and phrik alloy, Ruby got to work on the design. though Pyrrha also wanted an upgrade adding an angled guard emitter along with a dual phase function.

While looking through the various crystals that Malserik had Ruby found one that had a lava-like glow and was searing hot to touch with her nonmetallic hand. Malserik told Ruby it was a Lava crystal and advised against it being used in a lightsaber, especially one with an unstable blade, like Pyrrha's. though Ruby, wanting to prove Malserik wrong in his predictions, had installed the crystal anyway when she complete Pyrrha's saber.

when ignited the saber produced a lava-like blade that was unstable, the blade was super heated, for a lightsaber. where a lightsaber blade would only burn this one ignited it in flame, a feature Pyrrha quickly fell in love with. the deployable handle on the side made it easy to use the saber as a guard shoto and the guard emitter would be excellent to hook the blade of an opponent.

* * *

"Ruby contributed enough to my saber, as I have contributed to hers." Weiss replied indignantly, she didn't mind the Idea of Ruby doing a few tweaks, she just wanted her saber to be hers and hers alone.

"If Weiss likes Mitternacht the way she is I will respect that," Ruby interjected, her voice had been subtly changing over the course of the months of being with Imperious, as she now spoke with an imperial accent. If that was one thing Weiss loved about how Ruby was changing it was the imperial accent. It made that dolt actually sound intelligent and tolerable to listen to. It also made it harder for Weiss to ignore her, as Imperious had done a lot of work getting Ruby to calm down, which she did.

"Which I love Mitternacht the way it is, and thank you, Ruby, for respecting that, though please stop personifying our lightsabers. It's weird enough when you do it with yours," Weiss frowned stating the truth it was in reality quite weird when Ruby personified Rose De Sang when other people were around, though both Imperious and Malserik did not seem to mind it.

"Aww, but it's fun," Ruby whined back playfully, "As for Malserik's saber, by the force, I would love to take that thing apart!" Ruby squealed like her younger self would overseeing a new design for a weapon, though inside that excitement was a new undertone, lust.

"Yes and then you would go cabin fever locking yourself in your room till you could make a system like that on De Sang," Weiss said bluntly when their scrolls started to blink informing them of an incoming call. Ruby answered hers a blue figure of Imperious appeared saying "Don't ask questions meet us at hanger two in Waldstahl noIt'surgent!" the trio cleaned up their food and went back inside.

The trio was waiting in hangar two where they found a ship that was a utility freighter, as they entered they saw Malserik's airspeeder land beside the other ship and out came Malserik and Imperious, who the girls were glad to see unharmed. They were frantic moving out of the speeder though it was a mix of both panic and relief from what they could tell. Moving toward them, Malserik went aboard the freighter. As they closed with the blue eyed sith, they heard her say one thing "We found her," this made Ruby Weiss and Pyrrha go cold with shock. They knew where Nora was.

"Awesome!" Ruby cheered, following it up with an inquiry of, "So, where is she?"

"On a republic transport heading to Tython though it will be in dock around Naboo for refueling," Imperious spoke, this caused the trio's hearts to sink, tanking their mood. Though Imperious cheered them up by explaining her plans for this mission to recover Nora.

"For this to work, you will three will have to disguise yourselves, Neo will help you with this regard," Imperious explained, the three of them were curious of this requirement, "This is to conceal your identity as Sith, you will be playing the role of smugglers in distress. With this role in mind, it will avoid Imperial implications."

"So how will we be in distress?" Weiss asked as Imperious smirked in an unsettling way.

"Disable the hyperdrive, then jettison the parts, Malserik will artificially damage them to make it look like a general part failure," Imperious explained as Malserik walked back out of the ship, signaling that the task she just mentioned was complete. "Now this is the most difficult order, No survivors, and the Pride of Alderaan is to be scuttled, along with this freighter," Imperious ordered, her voice was stern with this fact. They would have to wipe out the ship. Unexpectedly, she got no complaints from them, instead, they had smiles on their faces.

 _Like true Sith, taking pride in deception,_ Imperious thought as she continued with "Lastly, for the sake of concealment you will be given blaster's please use them, and your are lightsabers a last resort, and for the love of the force don't say your names once, use aliases." Imperious finished as she dismissed the girls to prepare for this operation.

With the plan in place, and their disguises on, they felt confident, as this was to be their first mission against the Republic, their enemy. With her plan explained, the Trio got ready then departed. They had to be quick as if they weren't Nora would be bent to the republic's will, forcefully.

* * *

In Waldstahl after the trio had departed on the light freighter Imperious was watching Malserik gathering up his data, He was frantic moving around his lab faster than a Jawa in a scrap yard. Imperious relaxed with her arms crossed leaning on the dark metal walls of Malserik's lab. She could hardly guess what Malserik was doing, considering she didn't even know what half the equipment in this lab did.

"You said you genetic tests of our apprentices revealed something you found disturbing," Imperious spoke to remind Malserik why they were here.

"I know!" Malserik yelled cursing in various tongues he understood without a translator. He finally pulled out a data pad that was under a light pile of stuff, "Okay, there we go, Have a seat Imperious," Imperious took a seat at the cluttered island counter across from Malserik. "So, you know how the prophecy specified the Daughter's of Jedi, Correct?"

"Yes, what of it?" Imperious inquired with a smirk curious how this information could rile her friend up so much.

"You won't believe who they are Daughters of," Malserik said shifting the data pad over to Imperious whose eyes went wide at the info in front of her, the resemblance to Ruby's mother was there in spades, but then, her supposed father Ruby talked about him a lot, but this report pointed at another man to be her biological father, a man Imperious held in high regard by this report, Revan. With the image they had of Revan's face in the Imperial database, Ceres noted the eyes, the golden eyes matched. Though she had to confirm what she was reading with Malserik, so she asked,

"Are you saying Ruby Rose is the Daughter's of both Revan and Meetra Surik?" Imperious asked in disbelief of the report. Her voice giddy with excitement, If Ruby was his child, that would explain her power.

"That is what the genetic testing I have done can conclude. Weiss is the Daughter of Atris and a Remnant, Pyrrha is the daughter of Vima Sunrider and a Remnant," Malserik explained, as Imperious eyes went wide. The daughters of Jedi lost to time, this only made her curious about who the fourth's parents would be. With that thought in mind, Ceres replied with,

"Impressive so that's where Vima and Atris went," Imperious said with a smirk, "one of the greatest mysteries of the Jedi Civil War solved." Imperious smiled relaxing back in the padded chair. "Ruby being the Daughter of both Revan and Meetra, That explains her prowess in the force," Imperious said, "Malserik I think once the girls get back, we need to let them know who we are."

"I take it we will induct them into the order?" Malserik inquired resting back, himself.

"Correct," Imperious nodded. They left the lab to go elsewhere to discuss the plan in secret. That Location was one only Malserik and a few of those he trusted most knew about, the Vault, their order's card up the sleeve, along with the source of Malserik's title as Librarian.

* * *

Drifting near the republic depot around Naboo, Ruby now disguised in the normal attire of a smuggler. Wearing a wig with red hair and green contacts in her eyes, she refused the makeup treatment Weiss and Pyrrha got, to complete the look, she even had a blaster on her belt. Just like Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha had put on their disguises Weiss had a black trench coat on as along with a black wig and but no contacts as for the most part Weiss's eyes were still normal. Pyrrha had put on a Blonde wig and blue contacts. They looked the part of three smugglers, they had blasters but they had their sabers concealed just in case of a Jedi. Neo had helped them get there looks just right, she was good with helping people disguise themselves, though her and Roman were aboard the Whispering Specter a few systems out.

Ruby shut down the hyperdrive by taking a few quick to reassemble parts out, then hiding them in a smuggler hatch in the cargo bay. She hated this ship already, it was too crappy and old along with rusty and jagged from lack of use. Though, Ruby couldn't help but smirk, as this plan was crazy enough to work. Imperious told them to drop into the system and feign a distress call with their engines disabled and as they docked with the republic ship, they would strike. Once they had Nora they would retreat back to the recall point and dock with the Whispering Specter, then scuttle the ship. Though there was one part of the plan that had all three of them groaning, they were to use blasters and only resort to their sabers, if needed.

"Drive is down!" Ruby yelled letting Weiss know to engage the distress beacon getting the ship's attention. From there they waited, checking over their equipment, concealing their sabers and checking their blasters.

* * *

 **A/N: Well for this chapter I just enhanced the original setup for the next chapter, also I wanted to further the Malgus Imperious rivalry that will come into play later in the story. Also, I am going to say this I am at the point where I have less and less ideas about how to fill in sections of the story, minus coming up with new elements, as I am getting it to territory where my writing style wasn't as bad.**

 **Not really much else to say for now.**

 **Blitzing Raptor.**


	23. Chapter 23: To Rescue a War Maiden

**A/N: Chapter 23: To Rescue a War Maiden, one of my favorite parts of the story, I really didn't change as much as I feel this chapter was written at a point were my writing I feel can stand up to my current standards. Once again, the One year note is in Chapter 1's A/N. With out further additions, Chapter 23: To Rescue a War Maiden!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: To Rescue a War Maiden**

* * *

On the Hammerhead-class ship known as the 'Pride of Alderaan,' Jaune was guarding Nora, she had woken up but she didn't still recognize Jaune as who he was. This saddened the young knight, she cried and screamed about how she would "make the crew all sloths and chop their legs off." Jaune told her who he was she didn't think it was funny, she said she would "Bite his legs off" for even claiming to be her dead friend. Not even him mentioning Lie Ren being alive helped, to the contrary, it made things worse. So he had relegated himself to guarding the brig, hoping that Lie Ren would have different results.

"Jedi? We have finished refueling, though a ship just came out of Hyperspace blaring a distress call," a republic officer said saluting the young knight, Jaune nodded to tell the officer to continue,

"We are moving in to assist if you have no objections." the officer spoke calmly and concisely,

"I have none," Jaune Replied leaning back in the chair he positioned next to the cell's door. He thought __Ruby would always help those in need; if only she was here maybe she could break Nora out of this psychosis. Though, something about this ship gives me a bad feeling.__ He returned to tell the officer of this feeling but he had left. so Jaune decided to pay no more mind to it. that was an error he would soon come to regret.

* * *

The Hammerhead Class cruiser approached the disabled ship, on the bridge the crew noted only three life signatures on board. The ship didn't look too damaged but its hyperdrive and engines were disabled. The voice on the other end sounded female and was asking for assistance from any nearby ships. They orientated the ship for docking, not asking a single question.

Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha were sitting by the airlock on the ship. They were tense, this was, in essence, their first action against the Republic, and they had to use blasters. This was going to be hell, or so Weiss and Pyrrha thought, Ruby, however, was strangely confident. They jumped at the magnetic clunk of the ships being brought together. Weiss gave them permission to come aboard as soon as they docked. Their plan was to get on board their ship as they replace the parts letting the republic fix their ship before they left they would strike. The Airlock opened Ruby Smiled as the republic troopers came through.

"Oh thank the stars!" Ruby said acting like she was happy to see them. Even going so far as to hug one of the armored soldiers,

"Hey their Sang, no need to get so jumpy they are just doing their job," Pyrrha said using the Aliases they chose for this operation the last word in their lightsabers name, making Weiss, Nacht, and Pyrrha, Lamina.

"Sorry about that soldier, She can get a little jumpy sometimes," Weiss said pulling Ruby off the trooper glaring at her, telling her she was over doing it.

"Eh, I kind of like the hyper ones," the trooper said earning a glare from Weiss. "The captain said you are free to use the galley while we fix your ship." This line made the girls think, i _s the Republic always this hospitable?_ As they let them on the ship with out a care.

"Okay, take care of her!" Ruby cheered feigning happiness and concern for the ship, as an engineering team got to work fixing what Ruby broke. A friendly officer escorted them to the galley where some of the crew were already there resting and chatting. The three girls found the well lit Republic ship to be too clean and white, alien to those only exposed to Sith architecture like the Trio. They got comfortable in the galley taking advantage of the situation, playing the part of transporters. Weiss and Pyrrha grabbed some food. Ruby, however, relaxed on the couch, Until, one crew member decided trying to converse with a disguised Sith lord was a good idea. He walked up to Ruby, making sure she knew he was checking her out as she sat relaxing, pretending to be escaping the stress of long distance trade running. Weiss saw this man, she wanted to scold them for Ruby only being seventeen, but the way she looked made her look like a young adult. Also Ruby didn't seem nervous with this, no she smiled and heeded the man's gaze with a response of,

"You like what you see?" Ruby inquired seductively. The second she did this Pyrrha and Weiss knew what was going to happen and watched with great interest. She may only be seventeen, but some of the things Imperious taught the girl, frankly, could put Yang to shame.

"Oh yeah what's a little dame like yourself doing out here?" the trooper asked he was decent looking to Weiss reminded her of Sun but with black hair and no tail.

"Just running trade, gets awfully lonely you know," Ruby spoke in a seductive way; Weiss knew this show was for her when Ruby glanced into her eyes for a second, telling Weiss one thing she was teasing her. Weiss knew

"I can imagine, republic duty can get pretty boring when the other ladies on the ship hate your guts," the soldier responded, from what she was getting by reading this man was he was quite the womanizer of the ship.

"Oh they probably just get jealous of each other," Ruby kept pushing all the buttons she needed to, to worm her way into his head. They kept flirting, this was a show for Weiss, both in the sense of she was doing this for her entertainment because Weiss knew how this was going to end for him, but it did make her jealous in a way, as Ruby never once dared to try these techniques on her. Ruby kept pulling him deeper and deeper quickly getting him wanting more than he was getting. She had his trust for his most personal of problem's, Imperious taught her the "art of seduction,"

Ruby herself, thought it was gross at first but she started having fun with it. After a few more minutes, the engineering team reported back that was when Ruby quickly drew her blaster and blasted a hole through the flirtatious troopers head. This action made Weiss smile, Ruby had fun with her prey nothing more, nothing less. The Crew looked horrified at Ruby, like deer in headlights as Ruby turned her blaster on to the rest of the crew standing in the galley. This also served as the signal to the others to take out their blasters and begin blasting away. As the mission started deep below the floors of the freighter a local communication jammer activated isolating the ships.

Though they decided to deviate from the plan, Ruby and Weiss headed down to the stern of the ship, while Pyrrha went forward towards the bridge. Though, after a few minutes of blaster usage, the girls decided not to used them, Weiss even tossing hers to the floor with a scowl on her face blurting out,

"Uncivilized garbage." She drew her saber and began blasting the republic troopers with lightning. Pyrrha didn't even need to draw her saber as she mentally corrupted the republic's troopers causing them to turn on their comrades. Ruby was using concussive blasts from her force pushes to slam the republic troopers to and fro, though if they survived that onslaught she did finish the job with one of her paired sabers Blood red blades, whom as she continued stripped the wig off her head and removed the contacts from her eyes.

* * *

Jaune felt the shock and trauma being inflicted upon this ship, the Darkside had begun to engulf this ship as troopers and officers panicked. Feeling the panic he stood up, only for Nora to say in an eerie way, but her eyes were wide, with what appeared to be joy "They are here, the knights are here." Jaune had no Idea what she was talking about, the lights of the ship flickered and died. In the darkness, Jaune mumbled a slight prayer kissing the hilt of his saber. He did this when anticipated battle, it was for luck and just in case he did die. He walked forth into the dimmed white hallways, his lightsaber ignited as he walked out he saw soldiers retreating to the back of the ship, and he could not force them to face the darkness so he marched on. The smell of electrocuted flesh permeated the air as he continued towards the bridge. As he walked forward he heard the hum of a lightsaber that was not his own.

Standing in front of him was a woman with black long hair, and ice blue eyes her lightsaber a deep blue though the core showed an icy blue color. The bent hilt of the saber already told him this fight was not going to be good. "Face me, Dark Sider!" He commanded he readied his Saber, the figure turned she was beautiful not showing any sign of the taint of the dark side, but he could feel her dark heart. She smiled she spoke into a communicator in her off hand.

"Sang, Lamina I have a Jedi, I will deal with him, continue with the operation." She spoke as she looked the Jedi in the eye. Holstering her communicator she held her saber up and preformed the signature flurry of a Makashi salute, taking up a pose that said one thing to Jaune "your move, Jedi." He played cautiously as he attacked with an over head strike that she deftly parried.

* * *

Internally, Weiss was laughing at this Jedi; his strikes were to say it bluntly predictable, fitting of the styles of the Jedi. Weiss was disappointed she hoped her opponent would be tougher, seeing an opening on his left knee, she went into strike, though a white flash of light blared causing her to back step., Examining the Jedi she saw no damage.

"Ah, an Aura and a Semblance you are a Remnant," Weiss said with as smirk as the Jedi readied his saber into a position as she engaged the dust chamber on her saber blasting the Jedi with Ice powered glyphs. After a few second, the Ice cracked as the Jedi force repulsed himself out of the ice. His Aura was holding strong Weiss began to pummel him with force lightning infused glyphs.

Jaune's mind was going miles a minute as he dodged the attacks, the glyphs looked so familiar. The woman's actions her attitude that couldn't be her could it, thoughts like this riddled his mind as he parried the lightning with his cross saber. He watched her style it matched her to a T. He threw a massive force push that flared her coat but it ripped what looked to be a wig clean off her head. Revealing white sapphire tipped hair with a black, red tipped streak in the bangs. Despite the new scars style and hairstyle, He could only mutter her name "Weiss."

* * *

Pyrrha had cleared the bridge and began to cut off any communications the ship had remaining. She hated the architecture of the ship, it was smooth and unsightly, she liked the much more angular styles the Sith had. Besides, unlike Weiss, white was not her color. She looked back; she had accumulated quite the following of obedient slaves with their eyes glowing red. She loved her ability to corrupt the weak minded to her will. She chuckled as she gave the order for the troopers to,

"Dispose of themselves." Latching her modified retrosaber to her belt, she walked back to Weiss's location as her part of the mission was complete as the troopers behind her turned their blasters on themselves. As she walked back she took the wig off her head and the contacts out of her eye, as she wanted any survivors she encountered to feel tricked by the Sith also in part to them being an annoyance.

* * *

Ruby found her way to the brig entering she cut through the door. the brig was dark and unoccupied allowing Ruby to continue unopposed to Nora's cell though she didn't need to look for long as she was yelling her name. Ruby found her cell before opening it she discarded her wig and contacts, then she opened it only to be hugged by the very energetic, yet psychotic, now sandy blonde. Ruby had to put her saber to the side quickly so Nora didn't impale herself on it.

"Nora-I-Ne-ed- AIR!" Ruby gasped, as the war maiden released her iron grip. "Thank you, now let's get out of here," Ruby said though Nora responded.

"I need my lightsaber, the Jedi sloth has it," Nora said in her raspy and crackly voice.

"Nacht! That Jedi has the objectives lightsaber get it please." Ruby said speaking into her communicator, "don't worry Nora, Weiss will deal with him and we will have your lightsaber back by the time we get to her."

"Got let's go!" Nora cheered happily as they left the brig.

* * *

Weiss heard Ruby through her communicator, "Judging by that look on your face you know who I am," Weiss said looking at the Jedi as he readied his blade again for another bout of combat.

"That's impossible you can't be Weiss," the blabbering Jedi spoke as Weiss smirked as she immediately knew who it was, "Weiss would never senselessly kill like that!"

"People change, you're a Jedi yourself," Weiss retorted keeping he blade at her pointed towards the floor at an angle. "I don't enjoy what I've done but it had to be done, for the greater good, that's something you Jedi preach so much about, isn't it?"

"We are a force for justice!" Jaune proclaimed, to the sound of Weiss's snickering. The "Who taught you these things, Weiss who?!"

"A man by the Name of Viridian Malserik" Weiss replied with pride, she was proud to have been trained by him, he was almost like the Father she never had. Though what made her smirk was the look on Jaune's face when she said that. Malserik had told Weiss what the Jedi thought of him, and the way he was considered a traitor to them. To the point of where he is the poster example of a fallen Jedi to the order, little did Weiss know that to Jaune that name meant much more than that.

 _ _She knows Malserik, this just got bad, that means, oh no.__ Jaune thought as he looked back down at the corpse on the ground for a moment, remembering Master Artorika saying Malserik took two apprentices. He felt two more dark presences minus Nora and Weiss, his worse fears were confirmed in that instant. His mind was on over drive that meant Pyrrha and Ruby could be Sith as well. He heard from Summer that Ruby probably wouldn't be the same but it was at this second, Jaune knew he had to capture Weiss, she had to face trial at the hands of the council, so they could make her how she was on Remnant again, so the Jedi could purge her heart of Darkness "Weiss you will come with me to Tython." Jaune said bluntly, he knew no other way to put it.

"Are you arresting me?" Weiss inquired smugly as she brought her saber up for another salute, engaging the slow burn dust mechanism with fire dust, coating her blade in an icy blue flame. She narrowed her eyes, awaiting the response.

"I am afraid I am, you have committed crimes against the Republic, I can't let you go just because we used to be friends," Jaune said as he held his cross saber off to the side at an angle in a ready stance.

"So be it," Weiss said as she darted forth, navy blue edged, snow white petals flurried like a blizzard as she moved forth in a flash of speed. Her blade was a blur. Though Jaune could keep pace with the blue blaze, though Weiss did have the upper hand. She maneuvered the blade swiftly and sharply, trying to breach his defenses a few strikes did peck at his Aura, though none got through.

In the fight, Weiss slipped another dust crystal into the chamber, a fire crystal this time. As she pulsed the dust into the blade causing the blue blade to ignite it blue flames, one weird effect of dust, it took the color of the user's lightsaber blade. Using her glyphs, Weiss cast the fires out into the air though Jaune used his protection semblance to tank the fire.

Weiss was shocked by his defense as he bolted through the fireball that scorched the white Republic style hall way. She noted what he was doing at that was going in for a grapple. He switched his lightsaber to his left hand locking it onto his belt, as he grabbed Weiss by the wrist and grabbed Mitternacht from her hand though the saber deactivated and released a massive bolt of lightning causing his hand to open dropping the bent hilt though he managed to get the blade of his saber up against her throat, as he recovered from the security provided by the blood shard.

"You have lost Weiss, don't make me hurt you, okay," Jaune said as he kept his left arm and lightsaber between him and Weiss. As he held the girl he once had a crush, he saw how she acted, she was fully willing to kill him. As he held her he noted the big smirk on her face, as she glanced over to the side. Though that was when he felt himself get ripped back by a force contorting his throat, slamming him back on the walls of the corridor hard enough to dent the metal, and crack the armor plate on his back. Followed by an unknown accented female voice yell,

"Get away from her!" next thing he knew he was staring down a blood red blade with a rosy core from a cross saber. Despite the changes in eye color, hair color, and her body, he still recognized her face. She had grown, she looked mean, She looked the part of a villain. He knew her name though he didn't want to say it, but he couldn't control it,

"Ruby." She heard him and after a few seconds, her murderous scowl turned to shock. She blinked her eyes and shook her head almost as if she was seeing things, but she realized that Jaune was really there in front of her. Almost forgetting entirely what had happened she said,

"Oh, by Monty, Jaune!" Ruby's eyes went wide. Though, Jaune realized this was his worst nightmare as She managed to disarm him taking both his and Nora's lightsaber from his belt and mounted his on her own belt and handing Nora her saber. "You're a Jedi?" Ruby, as she said, twitched her saber allowing Jaune to sit up.

"Yes, I am a knight of the Jedi Order, Correct," Jaune replied looking up into Ruby's gold eyes. The fact her eyes looked like that terrified the young knight, as they made her look dark and evil, "and you Ruby, what are you?" Jaune continued, hoping she didn't say what he thought she was going to say.

"I am a Sith, we are Sith," Ruby admitted, knowing this would have ramifications as Weiss walked up next to Ruby, her saber deactivated and mounted back on her belt inside her jacket as Nora took a position next to her with a look of 'So he was Jaune? That's a thing,' The three of them looked down at Jaune whose face looked of stark betrayal.

"How could you Ruby?! How could you four?!" Jaune asked his mind trying to comprehend what could have caused Ruby to stoop this low. If one person could be infallible to evil, he thought it would be Ruby, but here she was holding lightsaber as his enemy, a servant of darkness, a Sith.

"I have the strength to defend those I care about, Jaune, I am personally disgusted how you can support a group that erases who people are, in the name of the greater good" Ruby chided back, as Imperious had told her what the Jedi did to Sith or those who go against the Republic's will, "The greater good that bends to the will of the Republic."

"Ruby, you know your Mother is a Jedi," Jaune said causing Ruby to slack her grip on her saber, though that reaction soon faded and she smiled wickedly, something that frightened Jaune as he had never seen Ruby smile like that, "I figured as much, she means nothing to me, what of Yang?" Ruby tossed back, She could see he was thinking about Yang for some odd reason like he didn't want to tell them something. He looked back up at Ruby, she had no legitimate interest in finding her mother. He could tell she knew she was a Jedi and the fact she would try to force her to join the Jedi and that fact really didn't appeal to the gilded eyed girl. though she was concerned about her sister, she wanted to find Yang. This disgusted Jaune as the girl cared for her sister, but not her mother as well. But he stalled long enough and he wasn't going to indulge his 'friend.'

"I can't say!" Jaune replied stoically as Ruby looked down at Jaune with a look of 'please don't make this difficult,' She didn't want to use her ability on Jaune but if her hand was forced she would.

"Jaune I recommend you answer Ruby's question," Weiss spoke looking down on the Jedi, "She's trying to be nice, she will find out anyway, so doing it of your own volition would be wise." Weiss wasn't bluffing, she didn't want to see her friend go through the pain she knew Ruby could inflict to get information.

"I refuse," Jaune said stoically as he stood up tempting Ruby's blade, but he was disarmed and surrounded by three of his former friends, people who would cut him down if he made one move.

"Jaune I would say that is an unwise decision" a fourth voice chimed in, Jaune's face contorted in shock an undisguised Pyrrha approached the group. "Please just tell us what you know, and come back with us, I could train you."

"My decision stands" He said back "and I don't ever want to be part of that disgusting empire,"Jaune retorted before taking it another step further, "you four all disappointed me I thought you were my friends, yet you stand here trying to make me turn against the light ant the good of the galaxy."

"Jaune, we are still your friends, it's just the Jedi are our enemy," Pyrrha spoke solemnly as tears started to form in her eyes. Having Jaune back was a blessing to the huntress turned Sith, but it was quickly becoming her worst nightmare.

"I don't know what to think, you four are not the friends I knew," Jaune said with confusion in his voice, "you are not my friends anymore, your just monsters wearing their skin!" This line shocked and wounded the four young Sith to the core. Weiss was angered by this, Malserik said the Jedi would be more reasonable then Sith, but she was having a hard time believing that it was at this point Ruby spoke,

"Well if that is how it will be, then I have no regrets about what I'm about to do, my former friend," her voice started low but morphed into a growl as she continued. She latched her gloved metal hand on to Jaune's head and began to read his thoughts and memories. He screamed in pain as Ruby assaulted his mind, though this pain filled the wounds he created for the Sith. Jaune could feel the twitch of every servo in Ruby's prosthetic hand. Letting him go Ruby allowed her former friend, now Jedi to drop to the floor quivering in a puddle of his own urine. Ruby and her three friends stood there for couple seconds, Weiss filled with hatred, Ruby remorse, Pyrrha heartbreak, and Nora was rage.

"I'm sorry that I had to do that Jaune, I truly am," Ruby said despite what she said she still felt somewhat bad for doing that. She wished that he would have joined them and told them what they wanted to know.

"The Jedi turned him on us," Weiss hissed, her teachings from Malserik showing through, "He was indoctrinated by their order."

"So what of my Ren?" Nora asked quietly as she seethed at the Idea of Jaune turning on them.

"They all became Jedi, and if you think Jaune was bad Nora," Ruby explained calmly, "Ren would be much worse, from what I can gather from Jaune is he is a by the book Jedi Consular." This made Nora frown and say something completely unexpected, "

I have you three I don't need Ren anymore then the Jedi tried to have me killed or captured numerous times, they are sloths that I cannot respect! I don't want to see the new Lie Ren, to me he died that day," this line shocked the other three to the core, though Pyrrha took this idea the hardest and stood there sobbing. "Pyrrha?" Ruby asked as she walked over and put her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"They turned Jaune against me, to the point of where he called us monsters, I thought It would be a happy reunion," Pyrrha sobbed tears flowing down her face.

"He was wishing he could take us all to Tython and have my mother rewrite our memories so that we could be happy again," Ruby said looking at her teammates their faces showing a look of shock along with disgust, "As we stand now, we could never go to Tython."

"Why would we want to," Nora responded quickly, "you three came to save me, the Jedi captured me to turn me into a sloth puppet?"

"Yes, so what of Yang and Blake?" Weiss inquired, this question made Ruby smile.

"Blake is a Jedi though she is a bit less strict, she could be convinced," Ruby smiled as the next bit was the fun part, "Yang, left the order and went rogue, she snapped at the council and my mother, killing a Jedi master, jacking her ship, and running off with dad, to who knows where, space."

"Wow she killed someone, I am actually shocked by that," Weiss looked at the smiling Ruby, wide-eyed at what she just heard, she didn't think the brute had it in her. Though her thoughts quickly shifted to the quivering wreck of a Jedi in front of her feet, "so what are we going to do about him?"

"We could take him with us," Pyrrha suggested thinking maybe they could sway Jaune in Hiskal.

"No too much of risk," Weiss said as he could do too much damage to Hiskal. "Not to mention he could blow the whistle on the operation"

"Dump him in an escape pod, jettison it, then we are going to scuttle the ship," Ruby spoke in an ordering and cold way. A way that made her friends spine's shiver. The did not oppose this idea and they nodded and got to work. Pyrrha was the one to load Jaune into the escape pod. She took great care in this task as Ruby wrote a note for him when he awoke. Pyrrha put this note under the harness he was clipped into. Once he was strapped in, The four of them gathered and sent him off together.

With the escape pod jettisoned on the way to Naboo's surface, Weiss went to the bridge to trigger the self-destruct. Ruby came with her to destroy the black box of the ships records and verify that all records were deleted. Pyrrha went back to the freighter with Nora and prepared the ship for departure. When the two entered the cockpit, Nora learned something shocking, they were in space, something that required a lot of quickly explained things on Pyrrha's part. With all of those tasks taken care of, the light freighter undocked and ripped away entering hyperspace immediately as the ship behind them detonated. As the wreckage filled space, a pod had hit the surface of Naboo.

* * *

Coming out of hyperspace, they linked up with the Whispering Specter, where they scuttled the freighter after they boarded the Specter and took off from the crippled ship. With the final task of their mission complete, The four girls stood in front of the holo-comm.

Nora watched her three teammates, they all had smiles they were happy to be back together. As the Holo-comm responded, Nora was amazed at the holographic technology, and the technology of the ship in general. Nora didn't pay much thought to the conversation until she heard,

"So that is Nora Valkyrie, it is a pleasure to meet you I am Darth Imperious," The blue holographic woman smiled, as Nora responded with,

"Same to you," Nora replied with an odd smile, this lady seemed friendly, though there was something about her that seemed off. Though after the quick introduction Imperious gave a quick follow-up order to the three knights.

"Please, you three get Nora caught up and let her know who you are now," Imperious said with a smirk, as Nora hadn't dealt with the Sith before and they were her allies. Ruby smiled at this order, as her, Weiss, and Pyrrha had already thought of this, as Nora was quite ignorant of where she was, and the galaxy that was now open to her.

With this in mind, on the flight back to Drommund Kaas the trio explained their lives apart to recap for Nora. Ruby and Weiss talked about their training, Pyrrha talked about her times in the tombs, and Nora talked about her time among the Sand People. That was when they found out the name of the Sith that gave her lightsaber and her facial markings, a Darth Krayt. They learned of Nora's exploits on Tatooine and the fact she wasn't as brutal as the reports let on, as she only fought those who fought back against her. As they sat back discussing their thoughts on the situation, Roman and Neo decided staying in the cockpit on the flight back would be a good Idea as they would like to keep their legs intact.

It was at this point Nora saw the Force had affected her own appearance, She hadn't seen herself in a mirror in years. Though she was not the only person whom the Darkside had touched as once her friend's cleansed themselves of their disguises, she saw similar traits on their faces. According to them, it was how the Darkside marked one's body. From what they understood such changes were permanent, though they weren't unappealing according to them. Given some spare clothes, Nora felt cold, and the moisture in the air irritated her lungs, both of which had adapted to the scolding hot and dry climate of Tatooine, it was something she realized she would have to get used to now. If she had one solace in her situation, she was back with her team, her friend, people who would walk through hell for each other.

* * *

On Drommund Kaas, in the vault Imperious and Malserik sat with smiles on their faces, they had the four girls of the prophecy, now they needed to get the newest edition analyzed and trained up to the level that Ruby Weiss and Pyrrha were at, they had the time now that Imperious had four great allies at her side.

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 **A/N: Well this chapter was fun to work on again, I quite like how it is the end of the first Arc of the story, The Reunion Arc, I have one more wrap up chapter then a new Jaune exclusive Chapter before we go into what was the original chapter 6 with a new Lie Ren exclusive Chapter then we go into 7 and 8. Now that that is out of the way, I really don't have much to say that I haven't already said in chapter 1's AN.**

 **As to respond to a set of Reviews.**

 **JimmyHall24: They did make it, I hope you liked it!**

 **With that everyone, I am so happy that this story has made it a year, and is doing well after I decided to start the rework. I am also very thankful for everyone who has stuck with Dark Side of a Rose for as long as they have, and welcome to all that are new! This story is nowhere near done, I have a few arcs planned for later.**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, have a great holiday break and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	24. Chapter 24: The Fourth Knight

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long on this chapter, I had a serious case of Writers Block along with Winter Break distractions with this chapter, hence its shorter nature. So without further additions Chapter 24: The Fourth Knight.**

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 **Chapter 24: The Fourth Knight**

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"I am impressed ladies," Imperious said behind Malserik's desk as Ruby set Jaune's lightsaber on his desk Malserik standing at her side, who also had a smile on his face at what Ruby had set on his desk, "And you killed your first Jedi, Ruby how did it feel?" Imperious asked with a smile.

"I merely disarmed him I could not kill him, Imperious," Ruby replied, slightly nervous, "He was a friend of ours from Remnant, we couldn't turn him." Ruby continued standing though her legs wanted to give out in the gaze of the two Darths, though with her teammates standing behind her she stood strong. Imperious's reaction was that of a slight pout followed by a smile, as she thought of how to explain the situation to Ruby

"You cannot turn Jedi easily that takes determination and persistence, or a Jedi of weak faith," Imperious Explained to Ruby, "As for you Nora please go with Viridian, I would like to talk to your friends in private okay."

"Yes Ma'am," Nora smiled, trailing along behind an annoyed Malserik, only twenty minutes after meeting Nora, he was convinced she would need mental help and that was coming from a Darth. _This girl is insane,_ Malserik thought, as he took the girl down to the lab to get genetic samples, and then get her dressed in something more akin to her comrades. He even had her walking in front of him, as he didn't trust her near the expensive equipment of his lab, or Waldstahl. The girl reminded him of all of those insane Darths by just her eyes alone. Then came the talk of broken legs and sloths, the latter of which only confused the Darth further with the thought of _What is a sloth?!_ He would ask, but he felt if he did he would be there for hours.

"Well I am thoroughly impressed," Imperious smiled to the three young women in front of her, "You three are ready to become members of my order,"

"Your order?" Both Weiss and Ruby asked simultaneously. They knew that Malserik and Imperious where part of an organization but this was the first they are truly hearing about it. They had heard mentions of the order before, but this was the first time it was being directly discussed with them.

"Yes, we are the Visorium Order, named after my ancestors. we are a faction of force users that believes in a unified one Sith that can pool its resources without major in fighting. Our main goal is to unify the Sith and reform it, along with destroying Vitiate, he will doom our empire, our kind. I have seen the visions my ancestors have seen. Times when there can only be two Sith then, and threats that would wipe the slate of the galaxy will arise; our goal is for unification under one banner, to prevent such things."Imperious explained calmly to the girls, finishing her explanation with, "We want the galaxy to not fear the future, we want it to be prepared, that is what we fight for."

"And, you are inducting us into this order?" Pyrrha asked for the three of them, who looked at Pyrrha with a look of, 'We gathered that.'

"Yes, you four can join us, it is your choice, I will not force you," Imperious spoke with a smile as she relaxed into Malserik's chair, intertwining her fingers. She figured they would join, and there would be no repercussion's against them if they didn't, as at this point they would serve her plans either way

"I think I can say I will join," Ruby replied with a smile. Imperious knew she would, she was her apprentice after all. _If Ruby joined the rest will follow,_ Imperious smirked at the thought, as Weiss trusted her partner, and Pyrrha trusted her friend, as did Nora.

"If Ruby joins, as do I," Weiss replied calmly. if what Imperious said was the goals of her organization, she could get behind that. Aside from that Ruby seemed to be enthusiastic with

"Likewise, I shall be part of the crusade to reform the empire as well," Pyrrha smiled a noble tone in her voice. This must have been what the spirits told her about.

"Nora will follow suit I take it?" Imperious asked with a smile, she was happy to see these four reunited and she was excited to see what they could and would do, "just curious do you know your lineage?" Imperious smiled planning to brief them about their parents.

"I know my mother is Jedi," Ruby replied going by what she heard from Jaune and the first conversation she had with Malserik.

"Ruby Rose," Imperious smiled as she stood up and looked Ruby in the eye. "Your name is a lie, your mother's name, her true name is Meetra Surik," Imperious explained much to Ruby's confusion. "Then your father, oh your father!" Imperious cheered almost sounding like an excited school girl.

"What about Taiyang!?" Weiss inquired with haste, as Tai was a man that she respected. The way Imperious was talking made the three of them concerned as it was apparent she held a shock bomb over their heads.

"Well, the funny thing is he is not her father, far from," Imperious smiled, almost wanting to cackle maniacally at what she just said, but she restrained herself. Ruby, on the other hand, had a look of pure "what the hell did she just say?" As a matter of fact, the other two had the same looks on their faces.

"What does that mean?!" Ruby burst out, slamming her hands down onto Malsterik's desk as Imperious smiled back. "What the hell does that mean!?" Ruby inquired almost wanting to lunge across the desk for that statement. Ruby could tell Weiss wanted to ask the same thing.

"According to the genetic lineage testing Malserik did, Your father doesn't resemble the images of Taiyang, we have," Imperious explained calmly, "No he resembles someone else entirely. A man by the name of Revan." With that explanation complete she took out the datapad with the information on Ruby out and handed it to the Rose.

On the tablet, she saw her mother, the mother she knew, and a man she had only heard about through tales and legends from her master. She could sense that Imperious was being honest with what she said. She looked at the image of the man that was claimed to be her father. She saw his eyes, the gold, it matched her own. Imperious knowing what Ruby was focusing on, replied, "The eyes of the Darkside can be hereditary, and only Revan has eyes like that."

"So my mom and Tai lied to me?" Ruby asked unsure of what to think at the moment, other than _How much of me is made of lies? How much, Mother? Father? Revan? How many more lies will I learn about myself as a Sith?_ Ruby thought as Weiss snatched the tablet out of Ruby's hand and examined her eyes for herself.

As Weiss looked at Ruby Imperious replied "I would bet it was only your mother who was responsible, as she has a nasty tendency to rewrite memories," This sealed Ruby's already cracked opinion of her mother. The facade of Summer Rose was shattered. It was at this point Weiss dropped the datapad as the color of her partner's eye seemed to match completely. Though it was Imperious who spoke first, continuing her prior thought "Now, Ruby, you yourself wondered why you were so powerful, that right there is why. Strength in the force is hereditary," Imperious explained as Ruby looked up at her, "And you are the daughter of two of the most powerful known force users."

"So this is true?" Pyrrha asked, skeptical of the claim. Ruby looked back at her friend with a look of 'I wish it wasn't but I feel it is.' Weiss mirrored that look as Imperious responded with a reply that sealed the deal.

"Malserik has holocrons worth of Jedi and Sith genetic samples," Imperious explained calmly, "Ruby's genetics have distinct traits from both Revan and Surik, Malserik said this is a 'near certain' result, Unless Taiyang is Revan, he is not the father."

"Could Taiyang be Revan?" Inquired Weiss, Ruby herself wanted an answer to this question, and that is what Imperious gave them,

"No, as Revan was captured by Emperor Vitiate after Revan made an attempt on his life, and he was an already married man," Imperious explained, though the last bit she added on confused them, and their faces showed it, "Revan was married to a woman named Bastila Shan when he and Surik went to confront Vitiate, and he had a descendant or two. So I don't know how or when you came to be Ruby," Imperious explained, making Ruby further question her existence. It was at this point Imperious produced another datapad. "This one is for you Weiss, it is a report on your Mother,"

Skimming through the report, Weiss learned of the truth of her mother, Atris Schnee. She learned that she too was a Jedi, though it was when she saw Meetra Surik mentioned numerous times in the report. This shocked Weiss as her mother was seemingly responsible for Surik's expulsion from the Jedi order three hundred years ago. It was at that point it clicked in the daughter of Atris's mind, three hundred years, no way her mother and Surik could be that old.

At this point Imperious also handed Pyrrha a datapad on her mother, A Vima Sunrider, a Jedi lost to time well before the Jedi Civil War. Pyrrha was shocked to learn of her mother's past as a Jedi. After all three girls were thoroughly shocked, Imperious smiled ad told the girls,

"You four are a lot more important than you think, and your bloodlines show that," Imperious smiled. Imperious herself was amused by this turn of events, especially Ruby and Weiss's relationship. From the few records recovered from Telos that Malserik had, Surik barely let Atris live, barely. She was about to kill her before letting her go realizing she had to find a Darth Traya. Atris even after Surik left swore her vengeance on the Dark Jedi.

The distortion between the disappearance of their mother, and the birth of her daughters, poised an interesting conundrum that Malserik addressed in his reports, he suspected the method of transportation between the where ever Remnant was unstable to Remnant, but more stable coming two, though he also suspected there could be some instability coming from Remnant as well. With the meeting done Imperious dismissed the three girls with the final order to 'get to know their lineage and come to terms with it.'

* * *

A few days passed on Drommund Kaas, Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha had begun training Nora to get her up to their standards for combat. It was in this time Nora showed her friends how fierce she could be. Dumping massive amounts of force lightning into her body, she could power her strength to absolutely ludicrous levels. Normally she held back on this ability, but now that she was among friends, she let loose. The first time doing so she was practicing her hand to hand combat with some training droids, able to see their weak points as shatter points, she could focus her ludicrous strength with pinpoint accuracy on weak points and faults in the material of the droids. Though after the first punch the training chamber echoed with a loud and decisive crack. This crack caused Nora to collapse in pain, as her arm shattered under the power imbued in her own muscles. Her bones were used to the basic stress of her semblance, but this was an all new level of strength that her bones couldn't withstand.

* * *

With her right dominant arm broken, she decided to try to relax on the training till the shattered bone was fully healed. It was also at this time, she decided to build her own saber to Sith standards. Not having any idea how the sabers were constructed, she asked Ruby for help with the design, as she wanted to make a collapsible lightsaber pike so she could have something similar to what she had on Tatooine but maintain the ability to shift to a normal sized two hand hilt.

Taking the design like a commission, Ruby designed the saber but she added a few unique features such as using a blaster ignition system to extend the main shaft rapidly and adding the end of a Force pike with flanges like that of a gaffi stick. She mandated the design be made of Phrik alloy due to its length. Nora loved the designed and overviewed Ruby's manufacture of the saber's parts. Despite Ruby making the parts, it was Nora's job to assemble it. To which she did, using the Pink Krayt Dragon pearl from her old lightsaber, Corusca Crystal she found in a settlement and a Katak Crystal provided by Malserik. For its first test ignition, it ignited in a compressed pink blade with a magenta core. Nora immediately loved her saber testing its blast extensions system she immediately fell in love with it naming it the 'leg-breaking made easy' system. Though her official name for her saber was in old northern Atleasian, the name was "blodsverd."

With her saber complete, Nora wanted to get used to using it, practice with it, and become familiar with it, she wanted to fight. For the past week she had stared at the weapon resting on the table next to her bed in the quarters given to her by Malserik that were connected and modified to attach to Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha's quarters, forming a long hall like room between them which was used as a common living space with a bathroom and three bedrooms in a row.

Each time she looked at that saber her broken arm tingled with a light pain, that was more of discomfort in the cast. This night she had enough, Blodsverd would taunt her no longer. Getting out of bed, she cracked the cast on the wall, smashing it. Freeing the barely healed arm. Her arm limp with pain. She growled, basking in the pain. She came up with a way to stifle the crippling factor of her arm. She focused that pain into the force, using its power to pin the fragments of bones back together then focusing her aura into the damaged bone. She could feel the bone healing slightly, but it would be too fragile to use heavily. Nora sensed this and came up with a solution, she reinforced her arm with the Darkside's energy.

She let out a light growl as the pain in her arm intensified causing her to clench her right hand. Taking the saber in hand, her arm pulsated with pain, almost feeling as bad as when she originally broke it. Though, she wasn't going to let that dissuade her. Though the pain caused her to lock her grip on her Saber.

* * *

In the training hall, Malserik and Imperious were having a friendly late night spar. Imperious wanted to practice her form two against the man who taught her the form. Originally she relied on form seven, dual blade and saber staff techniques. While nothing to scoff at, Malserik taught her how to fence properly with a single blade. While she still preferred her normal style, it was a good backup to have.

Malserik's fighting style was proper, like that of an officer, while Imperious was much more fluid and violent. In a direct no holds bar duel, Imperious would be handling her own against the traitorous Jedi, but she was only using one blade against him, and she couldn't use the force.

The duel ended when Malserik disarmed Imperious of Castle by torquing it out of her hand and quickly putting his blade up to her throat. He was smiling as Imperious cursed,

"Damn it, Viridian," She blurted out as Malserik deactivated his saber with a smug grin on his face, "You know I can't win under these conditions," Imperious deadpanned as she pulled Castle back to her hand.

"I understand Ceres, I truly understand," Malserik smiled at the blue eyed Sith, "I just wanted to practice, and get a feel for your technique now, and as you stand right now, in a duel of the same parameters, you would lose to Weiss." Malserik smiled as Imperious rolled her eyes,

"You are proud of her, aren't you?" Imperious asked, she knew the answer but she just wanted confirmation at this point.

"By the force, is it not apparent," Malserik cackled as Imperious pouted at his response, "yes I am proud of her, not only was she an excellent learner. She is also an excellent teacher herself, as she taught me how to mine and process dust, along with the weapons and abilities of Remnant." Malserik explained, long-windedly, making sure to take a breath before continuing with, "along with that she introduced me to this most interesting Remnant game as of late, it's called Chess, it is all about thought and strategy."

"Viridian, you-" Imperious started to say before the door's to the training chamber opened. Past the doors was Nora, the last person they expected to see, due to her arm. Something that both of the Darth's noted about her was the fact her cast was gone. Though, the more disturbing thing was the fact she had her lightsaber in hand.

"Ah, Nora, what are you doing? are you okay?" Malserik inquired for the girl's safety and well-being. He originally didn't care much for her as she seemed a bit crazy at first, but she had calmed down and seemed more reasonable. Though as he asked that, she looked at him, causing him to lock up with shivers in his spine as her sulfuric glowing eyes locked with his one green one. At Which point, Imperious realized exactly what was going on by the darkness emanating from Nora's arm and said

"She is more than fine right now," Imperious said quietly, "Set her up with a training routine, Malserik, setting ten," She said as she signaled for Malserik to follow. As that passed Nora, they could see the pain in her face. Heading up to the control Room, to watch the training the Duo of Darth's watched the Droids start to deploy as Nora took her place at the center of the Arena. She ignited the pink compressed blade as one thought went through her mind, _Get used to the pain, I need my body to get used to this!_ Nora declared internally, as she struck the first of the Droids. She was dumping all of her force lighting into her body. With each strike, there was a snap in her body, first, it was other arm bones, then her legs, then other bones went as well.

* * *

Up in the control dash observation room, Malserik and Imperious were contacting Ruby Weiss and Pyrrha, along with a cadre of medical staff as they watch. They were speechless, her face was grim with pain, but she was dueling, even going into saber staff mode part way through. Her body by this point should have been in pieces, yet she stood and fought. Imperious immediately knew the technique she was using, and she muttered the name of the Darth that made it his mark,

"Sion," Imperious muttered, despite Krayt being the Darth the girl knew, she was using his technique though instead of hatred she was using passion and pain. It was at this point, the three other knights entered with the medical staff outside. They watch Nora fight for the Duration after the training. After which she was still standing, though she was exhausted and panting.

Afterword's she claimed to be fine, despite actually being in a lot of pain. She could feel her bones, they were fragmented and she was focusing on holding them together with the force, while her Aura repaired the damage. Needless to say, all of those who watched this display were shocked and concerned, but Imperious explained what Nora was doing, as dangerous as it was, it was a technique. With this in mind, they all went to bed with Various thoughts.

* * *

It was also during this time the girls also came to terms with what they learned about their families, and it was found out, Nora, who was an orphan that never knew her parents was the daughter of two of Meetra Surik's companions, Atton and Mira Rand. Jedi who had helped reassembled the Jedi order then disappeared shortly after Meetra did for the first time. They must have ended up on Remnant during that time and had a child. Though, Ruby was the one who had something to come to terms with her own existence. From the reports Malserik made for her, He couldn't place when Ruby was conceived or even how, as during the point when she was going up against Vitiate with Revan he was married, and she would have been too young during the Mandalorian War. This concerned the young Sith, as she didn't know where she came from. While this normally wouldn't bother her, It bothered Imperious and Malserik along with her as she wanted knowledge, she wanted to know how she came to be.

Though she decided to not obsess over it as answers would come in time, that's what Imperious told her at least. Weiss and Pyrrha were shocked by their parents being Jedi, making them question who their parents were, information provided by Malserik shed some light on all their parents pasts as Jedi.

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 **A/N: Well that was that Chapter, I had some fun giving Nora a new ability to cope with her strength, basically I wanted her to be ready for battle despite injury. Nora is supposed to be the berserker after all. As for next chapter Jaune Arc's Naboo fun (Warning, there will be gungans if they exist on Naboo at the time).**

 **As for those Reviews that came up, I am deeply thankful for the praise, made my day seeing them!**

 **As for the length of the story, I have no bloody Idea, I am planning for around 100-120 chapters, by the end of this but of course, this is subject to change.**

 **I am glad you enjoyed De Sang and Ruby in this Story. Along with that Revan is her father, kind of a Star wars Trope for there to be a surprise family reveal.**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, have a Happy New Year and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	25. Chapter 25: To Escape Naboo!

**A/N: Well time for the last chapter to be uploaded in 2016! To Escape Naboo!**

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 **Chapter 25: To Escape Naboo!**

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On Tython, Artorika waited for news of Jaune, but all her contacts could tell her was, 'No reports of the Pride of Alderaan, Master Artorika, she was last seen in the Naboo system,' The Pride of Alderaan was supposed to have arrived on Tython a week ago, This concerned Master Artorika greatly as Jaune was missing with the ship as well. No sign of him or the ship. She had been recalled by the council, so her hands were tied she need to hope her friend could survive on his own.

Jaune awoke on Naboo in a daze and an escape pod, his head felt like he just took a hit from Nora's hammer. Over the next few hours of him laying there in pain with his head throbbing, he recalled all that happened on the ship. He was disgusted but not angry, he wasn't going to let his emotions get the better of him. __Those people who claim to be my friends have died, they have been replaced by dark side incarnations of them. Ruby is dead, Weiss is dead, Pyrrha is dead, and Nora is dead, they died that day when we left and these monsters replaced them.__ Jaune though as he saw a note written in Latin characters like those on Remnant, though the penmanship was quite horrible, and it read,

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Jaune, I am sorry that we had to strand you like this but you left us no other option, I hope you can make it back to Tython safely.

Ruby

P.S. Tell my mother, I won't join her, or you in the Jedi

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Jaune was shocked she even cared enough to leave a message. He had little time to ponder the note as he had to make sure he could be rescued if he could not be able to survive without his lightsaber. Looking around the escape pod, he checked the interior of the pod as he realized he smelled of urine. He Shrugged as there was nothing he could do at the moment, he needed to take stock of his supplies. He had a medkit complete with advanced treatment options, for more threatening injuries. A survival kit complete with a light blaster rifle and various other implements for survival. The blaster was a lightened skeletonized take-down commercial blaster rifle, which despite its looks was quite a rugged weapon. Figuring he needed a way to defend himself he rigged some string around it to form a makeshift sling.

He also found a stock of clothing meant for survival on various harsher climate worlds. He took the stock of lighter clothes for a tropical world with him. With his gear taken stock, he looked for a distress beacon, something he found, but it was damaged in the crash. Cursing under his breath, he tried fiddling with the device but he could do nothing with it, it was dead.

After about an hour of rummaging through the pod, he had all the supplies he could carry with him. His first objective, find water and fast. If it was a large enough source he could bathe and get changed.

Peering out of the pod, he saw rolling plains of grass, in all directions but one. Facing east he saw a forest or what looked like a forest. Figuring that would be his best bet, he set out. With the gear on his back, he trudged through the thick grass without an inclination of where he was going or how he was going to get home to Tython, right now he had to worry about Water, Food, Warmth, and Shelter. As he trudged through fields, he contemplated what had occurred on the Pride of Alderaan.

There was a part of him that wanted to be mad at the four girls, knowing what happened to Yang, he couldn't get angry with them. "What have they become?"Jaune asked himself as he walked, he didn't even care that he was talking to himself at this point he was concerned as to how far their immersion went, and how connected they were to Viridian Malserik.

Weiss had admitted that she was trained by him, and according to what Artorika told him about the rogue Jedi, he was proficient in form two, something Weiss seemed to be a master of. The thing that continued to bug Jaune was the way she used a blue blade, true some Sith opted not to use the red blade, but blue wasn't a color most Sith used. Then came Ruby's lightsaber, he was shocked to see the red crossguard saber, he had heard mention from Yang about a Sith with a saber like that with golden eyes. Stopping his trek for a moment, his brain connected the dots, _Ruby's eyes they were gold, and her saber, oh no, Yang,_ Jaune thought as he realized Yang had seen Ruby all along. Then came that ability she used on him, the pain, the agony it caused him. He felt like his skull was going to explode as Ruby tore through his mind, though she only looked at the most recent information, almost like she respected his life on Remnant, either that or she didn't want to overload herself, either way, Jaune couldn't decipher it. Then there was Pyrrha, a friend and someone he respected greatly. Seeing her in that state, as Sith, made him wonder, _What happened on Remnant, what made them like this, How could Ruby be brutal? How could Weiss be lethal? How could Pyrrha be evil? And how can Nora be brutal?_ Jaune asked wondering what happened to them to make them like this, it was at this point he remembered a conversation he had with Yang back when they were padawan's shortly before they got knighted.

He remembered her saying something about how Ruby and the rest of the ones left on Remnant thought they were dead, supposedly killed by the White Fang. He paid it no mind at first but seeing what he saw, some of the dots connected, as he muttered,

"Vengeance," A thought that was almost forbidden to Jedi, thinking of their perspective. "They must have been corrupted by vengeance," Jaune spoke speculating at the damage done to them by the events that took place on Remnant. As he continued walking, he regretted the things he said upon the pride of Alderaan, though he couldn't turn away from the Jedi, though it did make him think, is there such a thing as a lightside aligned Sith?

* * *

By this point the young knight had reached the forest he saw in the distance from the pod, though as he entered he hear rustling in the foliage behind him, Glancing back he saw nothing. Though he felt like he was being watched, and with that in mind he readied the blaster rifle that was slung on his shoulder. Jaune was not one for ranged weaponry, bur he knew how to use a gun or a blaster. With a weapon at the ready, he prepared for combat as he marched along in the forest.

Eventually, he found his way to what seemed like a giant lake, that was at the end of the treeline. The sight of Water made the young knight happy, though he had to see if the water was salty and clean before he could consume it. Setting his gear down, he smiled as he got out the water purification kit he brought with him from the pod. Though as he did that a voice from behind him caught him off guard, as he had set his blaster on the ground out of reach.

"Yousa notta gonna move, you do, youa gonna die." The voice said as Jaune felt the cold point of a spear on the back of his neck. The pressure of the point rested on his spine. as it was released from his neck, the voice said "Nowsa you turn around,"

Jaune followed his instruction's to the letter, turning around to face an odd looking alien. He had heard of the natives of Naboo, but he had never seen a Gungan before. Though as he turned, five more Gungans emerged from behind the trees, "Sorry if I am disturbing you, I recently crashed down in a pod back there," Jaune admitted hoping that the truth would aid him in this situation.

"Yes, wesa saw that, not the first time a human find us, and wesa have order's to kill your kind," The Gungan captain said with a grin that looked odd on his snouted face.

"Whoa, whoa, can't we just talk about this?" Jaune asked as the Gungan answered with a quick thrust of his spear. Something Jaune countered with a quick snap of a force push that sent the leader into a large tree, though the push was a bit more powerful than intended, as it cracked the tree folding onto the Gungan, killing him. Stunned by the outcome, Jaune hesitated, though the five other Gungan's did not. Having to react quickly, he used the force to pull the blaster rifle to his hands as the gungan's attacked with makeshift weapons like machetes and spears.

He couldn't shoulder the rifle in time to counter the first aggressor, so he countered his attack with a force push, sending them flying back into a large stone. This action brought him the valuable milliseconds he needed to shoulder the rifle and fire at one of the angry Gungans. He nailed the first shot, using the force to accelerate his movement's he nailed the remaining two in quick succession. Looking around he surveyed for any more threats that were immediate, just as he thought the coast was clear he heard the rapid patter of large creatures running forth. Within seconds, he was surrounded by Gungans mounted on the back of Kaadu. They paid Jaune no mind at first as they dismounted the back of their bipedal mounts. Instead, they inspected the corpses of the six Gungans that Jaune had just killed. After a few minutes, the leader dressed in fine regalia, looked over to the young knight and asked in proper basic, "Did you do this?" he inquired as he gestured to the leader of the attacking group that was crushed beneath a tree.

"Yes, though they attacked first," Jaune admitted feeling guilty that their death was the only option he had.

"No need for you to be afraid, you did our people a great service, by eliminating Binks and his band of bandits," The officer admitted, as he walked up to Jaune, "I take it by your looks and smell, you came down in that pod back there?" The Gungan inquired gesturing the way Jaune had come from.

"Yeah, that was me," he replied nervously, as the Gungan laughed. His colleges looked relieved, lowering their weapons.

"Alright, I am going to take him back to camp and get him going to theed." The Gungan explained to his men as he told one of his men to stay behind and make sure none of Bink's group was alive, then he had another soldier secure Jaune's gear to a Kaadu while Jaune slung his survival rifle across his back. As he mounted the back of the weird looking creature.

Jaune was curious of what these Gungan's wanted with him, they seemed friendly, though. That's when he saw where they were leading him a small bubble like farm building with a paddock of Kaadu attached on the shore of the lake. The officer had his entire group dismount then told his soldiers to go back and retrieve their comrade, as he was going to take Jaune to see the 'Bosses.'

"So where are the bosses?" Jaune inquired as he dismounted and retrieved his gear from the Kaadu's back. The Captain laughed and replied with,

"You don't know much about out culture, do you?" The captain asked "Also I am Captain, Kraup Tru," He said extending his hand.

"Jaune Arc, Jedi Knight," Jaune smiled shaking the Gungan's hand.

"You're a Jedi, that explains how you cleaned up Bink's gang." The captain replied as he walked towards the shore, and it was at that point Jaune noticed the submarine that was resting there anchored in the reeds of the lake. "Alright Jedi, get in,you're gonna meet the bosses."

* * *

Tossing his stuff inside the cockpit of the submarine, Jaune got comfortable in the seat as Kraup engaged the submarine in reverse and retracted the anchor and activated the bubble-like membrane around the cockpit. It didn't take long for Jaune to see where they were going. Looking out towards the bottom of the lake he saw a city of glowing bubbles. The glowing yellow bubbles where accented with brilliant organic architecture that fit the aquatic nature of the city. After a few minutes of further travel, the submarine docked and the two disembarked. Jaune was told to leave his things as the captain said, they would be coming back.

Following the captain through the city, one of the guards stopped him, inquiring about why a human had come back with him. Tru replied with,

"This Human killed Binks and his gang of raiders, he is deserving of the Boss's attention," this got the guards attention and they were given a wide berth by the civilians who heard the announcement. At this point, Jaune realized he must have done something of high merit or absolute horror. He figured it was most likely the former, but he did have doubt instilled, though it could be just a hint of xenophobia on the behalf of the Gungan people. After walking for a few minutes, Tru had him at the entrance to the chamber of the bosses. Upon his entrance, Tru smiled and presented the young knight to the council. Consisting of many hooded Gungans and one larger violet skinned one in the center.

"Ah, Welcome to Otoh Gunga," The larger boss smiled at the newcomer, "Word through the kelp vine is you killed the terrorist and bandit Ieff Binks," The boss clapped as he walked up to the young knight.

"Yes sir," Jaune replied nervously as Captain Tru, confirmed it.

"Well then, yousa must be rewarded for your service to our people," the boss smiled at Jaune, with a snap of his finger's a Gungan with an old looking wood box walked forward, taking a knee before Jaune and opened the box, inside was a crystal, a lightsaber crystal, deep blue in color mounted in a necklace. Not wanting to offend the Gungan's by refusing this gift, he took the necklace and put it around his neck.

"Thank your for this gift, Boss," Jaune smiled, he really didn't need the crystal, but he was thankful for the generosity.

"It is nothing, yousa helped us greatly," the boss smile, continuing with, "is there anything, else you want?"

"Well if I could get a shower, and transportation to a spaceport that is all I require," Jaune smiled, as the boss smiled and gave his answer,

"A shower is easy, the only spaceport that I know of is in theed and the only way to reach theed quickly is by," The boss stopped for a second, wanting to toy with the young knight, "going through the planet, it will be done, Captain Tru will take care of it, though feel free to take your time, you are welcome to stay as long as you need." The boss smiled, by the way, these Gungan's were treating him, he thought by killing this Bink's character he prevented the Republic from being handed to a megalomaniac, or at the very least that's how the Gungans were acting.

* * *

Within an hour Jaune had taken his 'shower,' or more appropriately swim, then he was dressed in a set of Gungan clothing, a sleeveless tunic, and set of pants that were wide around the leg, he took his Jedi boots and slid them back on, they were like jackboots as at times, he did have trouble lacing and tying the laces on his boots. The tunic was comfortable and it left his muscular arms expose, though, over it, he wore his saber belt and that necklace. He looked more like a Smuggler than a Jedi right now, and that was further solidified by the blaster he had on his back. His freshly washed robes were stowed with the rest of his survival supplies.

He was treated to a decadent meal after his shower, he wasn't much for seafood, but he wasn't going to offend those who were so gracious to prepare such a meal. After eating he told Captain Tru it was time to depart. He wanted to get to that spaceport as soon as possible. He had to get back to the Jedi, he had to let everyone know Ruby and them were all alive, though they weren't on their side.

Getting back into the Bongo Submarine with Tru at the helm they departed, the ride wasn't much none of the dangerous creatures that Jaune was told about reared their heads. This gave Jaune time to meditate on the events of the past day, he felt horrible about the way he treated Ruby and them, he shouldn't have been so harsh. What he thought he should have done instead was console them, try to let them see some good in him, and let his light shine on their cold hearts.

* * *

Before he knew it he and Captain Tru had surfaced in the dimly lit bay of theed. The night sky masking their approach to the docks allowing Jaune to hop out and thank the captain with, "Thank you, for the ride, captain I wish you safe travels back to Gunga."

"Thank you too, Jedi, what is the phrase, ah, May the force be with you," the captain smiled as he reversed the submarine and dove under the surface. Once he was in the city of theed there he went in search of a ship or spaceport, and he needed to get back to Tython as soon as possible. Running through the dark streets like a beowolf with a blade in his back, a concerned citizen pointed him in the direction of the local spaceport Cantina. Deciding that would be the best place to hire a ship, he went to the cantina. Once inside, he heard familiar voices, looking around he saw a crew of four people sitting around a table and he also saw they had familiar faces, and the one girl's rabbit ears were a dead giveaway.

"Velvet!" Jaune yelled happy to see someone familiar. Velvet turned to look at the young Jedi with a distinct scar on his face, as he drew closer, he noted how deep the booth was as it seated twelve people, some of gargantuan proportions. Inside the booth, he saw Team CFVY, SSSN, and CRDL all members present and all eyes on him, most of them didn't recognize him, minus Velvet and Cardin, who saw past the scar on his face. Velvet was the first to greet him with "Jaune!" she yelled in disbelief as she thought he was dead, but somehow he wasn't. After this recognition, Jaune grabbed a seat and explained his situation to them, as they explained theirs, as they were smugglers with their ship, Rusty Rabbit.

* * *

 **A/N: a few things I want to mention with this Chapter. Firstly Jar Jar was retconned out of existence in this universe, not that it hasn't been changed enough already, I just wanted to do that. Also I wrote most of this Chapter on 12/31/16 for a New years release! And lastly I didn't want this chapter to be super long so I left it were I did.**

 **Once again everyone thanks for the feed back!**

 **Now with that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and Happy New Year and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	26. Chapter 26: An Invitation

**A/N: Ah after the little Naboo excursion, which will be followed up later. It is time for the start of the original Chapter Six, so without further delay; Chapter 26: An Invitation!**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: An Invitation**

* * *

After a few weeks on Drommund Kaas and the Sith Empire entered a festive celebration, though the day started like any other in Hiskal. The wind was calm and the harsh blizzard that had masked Waldstahl for the past few weeks had finally died down enough for the overlook to be used again the four girls dressed in similar outfits Nora, whose body should have been in a cast after all of the training she had been doing, but due to the force and her Aura she could still stand. She had a cloak that was dark gray on the outside and a magenta on the inside, while the witch of the order, Pyrrha, whose red eyes showed deep immersion, had a light gray cloak with orange on the inside. They were discussing the relative peace in the Empire as Hiskal hadn't been bothered in days.

To them, it was weird as during this week the Empire was celebrating. As to what they were celebrating the sacking of Coruscant, An event revered in the history of the empire and this was its ninth anniversary. Banners and various imperial regalia flew in the streets below. Malserik had told them of the sacking of Coruscant and his part in it. Weiss detested the idea of targeting a massive civilian center, though she did like the Idea of running the Jedi out of their temple, sending them packing to Tython. As the four watched the streets below, Ruby compared this celebration to the one that they witnessed when they first arrived in Hiskal.

"It's like the day when we first showed up in Hiskal, Weiss," Ruby said in her accented voice, a thing, two of the four of them had started picking up gradually, Weiss and Nora being the exceptions, as despite living in the empire for years Malserik still spoke in a normal republic dialect, and Weiss wanted to keep her dialect the same to show that. Though, after a second of analysis of the streets and the reviling crowd, she replied with.

"It is, kind of." Weiss smiled looking at Ruby was looking out over the city. She looked stoic doing that, like a leader ready for war, surveying her forces from above. Weiss actually came to love Ruby as a Sith more than her old dolt of a self. Ruby was now a person who could be a powerful ally if you were her friend or subordinate. Though. if one betrayed her, her friends or her subordinates, that person's life was moot, a rogue guardsman proved this point.

Though, Ruby, even as a Sith, still maintained a beauty and elegance despite her pale complexion and her gilded eyes. If there was one thing Weiss still was uncomfortable with it was Ruby's right arm, the way the prosthetic looked on Ruby just made her uncomfortable, due to this Ruby kept on the same gauntlet she got from Vader when Weiss was around. Though, after looking at Ruby for a few moments too long she quickly returned her gaze to the city. _To think Ruby would become like this,_ Weiss thought as she remembered Ruby as she was on Remnant, the last bit of that shrill higher pitch of her voice had finally left her, allowing her to sound much more mature.

Aside from these changes, their life at Waldstahl was a good one as it stood, they had found their place in the galaxy.

At this point Ruby, looked over at Weiss, thinking about how much she had changed over their Journey. Weiss took a lot from her former Master in how she carried herself through her actions. She commanded the respect of Waldstahl and Hiskal. As now she was an Heiress again, though instead of it being to one of Remnant's largest corporations, it was to being the governor of an entire region of the Imperial Capital world. To everyone who wasn't a friend Weiss was stoic and cold, even being cruel at times, but inside the group of Waldstahl, she was quite warm and friendly.

"Oh come on love birds, give it a rest," Nora blurted out, smiling as she watched the Red and White members of the knight's exchange glances at each other.

"I will have to agree with Nora here," Pyrrha added as she walked over to Ruby as both the Dove and Raven turned to face the Witch and the Warrior, their faces reddened with a blush. The lover's exchanged glances remembering what happened last time Nora and Pyrrha told them to cool down, it had the opposite intended effect, and it led to an awkward night for Pyrrha and Nora, and an even more awkward discussion the morning after.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Ruby replied, with a shrug, "So, what you want to do at some point, I mean we have to get out of Waldstahl at some point, and that party down their looks fun." Ruby smiled, changing the subject.

"First, Ruby, Let's see if Viridian or Ceres have plans first, " Weiss suggested, as all the Sith rarely spend time together as a group, The knights did, but Malserik and Imperious, rarely joined them, and Weiss was curious if they wanted to take a break. "They might have something planned and would like us to go."

"Doubt it, but its worth a shot, beats sitting around doing nothing," Ruby smiled, as she shifted to lean against the overlook's railing, as she pulled her cup from the table with the force and gulped down the fruit juice.

* * *

Away from the gathering out on the lookout, Malserik and Imperious were sitting inside discussing other things along the lines of their plans. Though as the conversation progressed

"Ceres, How many do we have to our order?" Malserik asked for an update on the status of the plan.

"Approximately, forty-five Sith, then I have allies in imperial intelligence and you have the Hiskal Guard Viri," Imperious explained though she teased the orders librarian with a nickname that made him groan.

"Viridian or Malserik pick one please I hate being called Viri," Malserik frowned at the leader of the order, "unless you are happy with me calling you Visorium." Though, as he said this ears listened from outside the study. Malserik trusted these ears as they were those of Balikor and Dornettz, and what they heard had them shaking, as they knew that name from legends.

"Okay, Viridian, point made," Imperious said nervously as she reclined "I'll stop."

"Thank you," Malserik smiled, as his desk's terminal began blinking as a new message came through. Malserik opened his terminal to see the message. It read:

* * *

Dear, Darth Malserik, and Darth Imperious,

I am sending this message to inform all the Darths of the empire who took part in the glorious Sacking of Coruscant. I will be hosting a party open to all Darth's and Lords. Though, I would like all participants of the Sacking to attend, if it is convenient with their apprentices, if possible. I feel the need to state this, This will be a peaceful event, though bring your lightsaber just in case some dissident Sith decide to be an annoyance. The party is inside my manor in the main hall outside of Kaas City (Coordinates Attached). food and drink will be provided, I would prefer for all to wear their robes, though how you dress is your prerogative. Apprentices will be in attendance and they are welcome to attend with their masters, though if they get out of line they will face punishment. Along with that some High Moffs and other various Imperial personnel will also be in attendance and allowed to attend under a lord.

Please consider the offer, you may enjoy it.

Darth Leers.

* * *

While reading the message, Malserik didn't notice imperious had moved to over his shoulder to read it as well. The message perplexed him as he was not in any form of the term, a social butterfly, like Imperious, who was behind him smiling. The second Viridian noticed this smile on the reflection of her face on the obsidian-like top, he wanted to groan as he knew what she was going to say.

"Well I know what I and Ruby are going to do, You should get out of Hiskal, Viridian, you could use the break, and also so Weiss can be with you as I don't want to have to sign for four lords," Imperious explained as she put her hand on his left shoulder, "you have been overworking yourself, and as your friend I am asking you to take a break okay." Imperious smiled as she wanted to see Malserik relax a little.

"I'll be fine," Malserik replied firmly, he had no interest in these parties Sith threw. He would rather be in his lab working on his projects, rather than dealing with music and dancing, again.

"Hey remember when you and I first met, you were a freshly scorned Jedi and I was just a young apprentice," Imperious said changing the topic to her favor.

"Yeah you showed me the ropes back then, and I taught you what I know" Malserik responded suspicious of his friend, "Why are you bringing this up?"

"Ever since you took over Hiskal, you distanced yourself from me, why?" Imperious asked legitimately concerned about her eye patched friend, "You used to be so much fun remember Skotia? That was fun. Remember how you cut down Zash to save me from that ritual, you shredded her with Sturm. You even helped me in my quest to get my position on the dark council!" Imperious said as she looked into Malserik's green eye with her blue ones, "yet you hide yourself on this mountain, just being the order librarian, you lost all your fun. I mean I wouldn't be anywhere in the dark council if it wasn't for you."

"Ceres, I distanced myself for your protection," Malserik spoke solemnly, "Being my only friends are You, Weiss, Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, and Dyekar, I don't want you to get hurt by me."

"Nothing you could do could hurt me, Viridian you are my friend," Imperious smiled back with a sweet smile, "What would it take for you to get out of Hiskal, Malserik?" With this Malserik entered a state of deep thought __if only you knew Ceres, my curse will kill everyone if I am not careful. Though it seems I'm not getting rid of you. Time to be suicidal I guess.__ Malserik said as his heart raced as his mind worded the question properly.

 _"_ Give me a chance," he said in a way that made Imperious raise an eyebrow, "I want you to give me a chance," It took the Sith a second for it to click in her mind what her friend was talking about.

"Wait you mean having a relationship don't you?" Imperious said her eyes going wide with a realization, she was legitimately shocked by this, "And all this time I thought you weren't interested in me, guess I'm a fool." Imperious laughed still surprised her face turning as red as her robes.

"Well I might as well let you know about my eye, Ceres," Malserik said as went to remove his eye patch, though his movement was interrupted by Imperious's hand who held his patch to his face.

"Don't, you'll show me when you're ready." Imperious said smiling sitting on the edge of his desk, "So we gonna go to this thing tomorrow?"

"Of course, with Ruby and Weiss of course," Malesrik replied, thankful at the fact Imperious didn't cut his head off like the last Darth that tried to suit her. he was further alleviated that there seemed to be mutual feelings as well. Continuing he added, "I am going to ask Nora and Pyrrha to remain here, as I need security here"

"Eh, okay, I understand," Imperious smiled as Malserik stood up, he had a lot of preparation to do for tomorrow.

* * *

Later that day Imperious mentioned to Ruby and Weiss the plan for tomorrow. Though she kept the thing with her and Malserik a secret from everyone, minus Ruby. She then informed Pyrrha, Nora, and Neo that they would be in charge of Hiskal while they were out, they were not happy with this but Imperious told them that it was for Security, and she would find a way to make it up to the two left out knights. With that in mind, Imperious wanted to have a pilot for tomorrow, and she knew the man for the job, Roman Torchwick. Who's response to the offer was,

"So boss lady, I'm going to be your pet officer?" Roman asked calmly, slightly concerned why he was being dragged along to a 'Sith' party and the role of the token officer was the first that came to his mind.

"if you want to think of it that way, I just think you make a good pilot for our shuttle," Imperious smirked. she liked Roman, he was snide and calculating, he knew how to route criminals and dissidents as he used to be one, "besides you could use a break,"

"I guess your right," the Criminal turned Hiskalan guard captain said, "Neo has been a bit more annoying than usual."

"Well I have one order for you Torchwick," Imperious spoke calmly, looking at the orange haired man, who looked at his boss with an eyebrow raised, concerned of what she was going to say. Judging by the look on her face he guessed it was going to be more of a joke so he replied with,

"And that would be, my lady?" Roman replied feigning his respect for Imperious, he liked pushing his luck with the Darths, unless it was Red though she was just a lord, yet he feared for his life if he let his nickname for her slip.

"Have fun," Imperious said with a smile that reminded him of Red when she was being playful, and not a pain in his ass or choking him because he slipped up and called her Red.

* * *

In the knight's quarters in Waldstahl, which was equipped like a lavish one story home by this point. Ruby and Weiss sat at on the couch. They were excited about the party, to say the least, as they would finally get to see how the Sith really could be, if kept civil. Weiss was excited to actually attend a formal event again, with Ruby this time and not some impotent boy her father picked for her or that dolt, Neptune. Ruby, thank Monty, learned some formal common sense when it came to these types of things. Though, she would probably be recording any unique lightsaber designs along the way. She would have to keep her under wraps if it got too ridiculous.

"So Weiss, are you ready for tomorrow?" Ruby asked of her lover, as she looked into her ice blue eyes that were lined with silver.

"I am, as I am quite curious about how well Sith can hold a formal event," Weiss smiled looking back into the gilded eyes of Ruby, "also did Imperious really have to get us those fancy robes?"

"I thought you of all people, Weiss, would love to wear something fancy to an event like this? I mean she even went so far as to make them look as nice as possible." Ruby smiled as she remembered how Weiss had changed under Malserik. She was into more practical things now, as her current outfit resembled Malserik's. while Ruby's wore robes like those of Imperious, though Imperious was working on making them their own unique outfits. "the one thing you may complain about is she didn't give you those damn lady stilts," Ruby spoke, citing one con of the Robes for this event, that Weiss most likely would complain about.

"You really got learn how to walk in those," Weiss chuckled, She remembered watching Ruby walk in heels the night of prom at Beacon, that was a site she remembered well and fondly "Of all the things Imperious would have taught you, one would think that would be number one on her list."

"No, not really, have you seen Imperious wear heels?" Ruby asked of Weiss, "I bet you haven't because she hates them as much as I do."

"Really!?" Weiss reacted, as she thought about it. As much as Imperious was like Coco in the sense of clothing, the idea of Imperious wearing heels fit her so well. "Well that's different, I thought she did," Weiss said slightly shocked.

"Nope, she wears boots with hobnails and steel toes" Ruby explained to Weiss about her Master, "She says they help with intimidation and 'kicking an opponent's face in' or 'Curb stomping them'."

"that seems like her, Malserik mentioned she can still be a child at heart and immature at times," Weiss said as she could relate why Imperious liked Ruby as an apprentice, they had a lot in common.

"Speaking of Malserik, you know what happened?" Ruby asked not sure if Malserik mentioned anything about that to Weiss. Imperious let Ruby know like a giddy teenager, excited she got her dream date.

"I haven't, though I suspect I will find out now," Weiss responded interested in what could have happened to him that would make Ruby grin like the Cheshire cat.

"He asked Imperious to go out with him to the dance," Ruby smiled, "I knew he would finally get the balls to ask her, though I think I could have told him Imperious felt similarly about him," Weiss went wide eyed, __so that's why he was asking me for advice on dating and romance, dear Monty this could be good, bad, or hilarious. Though if Imperious likes him that means she could be willing to put any romantic ineptness aside.__

"well this is most certainly an interesting development, and how did you know about how Malserik and Imperious felt," Ruby tapped her right temple with her gloved hand and Weiss immediately got angry, "Really! You could get that kind of info from reading someone?!" Weiss yelled as she hated the idea of Ruby being able to actively invade someone's head, let alone the fact she did it on people she trusted.

"Weiss sometimes I can't help it," Ruby pleaded as she couldn't just shut it off, it was something she knew about her force sight ability. Sometimes just by focusing on a single person, she could unconsciously activate her ability, "It can activate on its own and it's not like I can get memories or information just basic feelings and emotions!" Ruby blabbered on her speed semblance engaging, causing her to talk faster than normal as she did when she was nervous.

"Okay if that's the case have you ever used it on me," Weiss asked curiously, she could tell if Ruby was being honest.

"Only subconsciously, so I can only read things like what your feeling, very basic things like what's on your mind. I can only fully read someone when I have physical contact and even at that point it requires effort on my part to do. It's not like I can hear your deepest darkest thoughts. So I have not done it on purpose and I would never purposefully do that to anyone I care about," Ruby said she was being honest about her unique ability. Something Weiss had not discovered, supposedly they all had special abilities or affinities in the force, Ruby's being advanced force sight, Pyrrha's being spirit walk, Nora's was advanced shatter-point and something about Sion. Weiss still had not discovered hers yet. Though, according to Imperious, the longer it takes to come out the more impressive it will be.

"Yeah I just don't want to end up like Jaune did, when you were done with him," Weiss smirked as she knew Ruby couldn't truly rip peoples minds apart, yet, though what she could do was horrifying enough.

"He got what he deserved," Ruby hissed she originally felt bad but it faded and she felt he got what he deserved, for what he said. There still was a part of her that cared about Jaune, but if he wanted to be their enemy, so be it.

"That's not what I was talking about, even Pyrrha agree he got what he deserved," Weiss said referencing Pyrrha and Nora's very verbose opinions of the Jedi and Jaune. After that, they decided it was time to get some sleep to prepare for the party. They had to get some rest, as tomorrow they had a party to go to.

* * *

As the rest of Waldstahl laid sleeping aside from the guards roaming and milling around in the halls, Malserik laid in his bed awake, his heart pounding, about the day to come. He knew Imperious had feelings for him, but he was worried about what could happen if his eye patch slipped, or he did something to embarrass himself.

He had confronted Weiss earlier for relationship advice, to which she was a great help, though he couldn't help but be nervous, over the matter as he didn't want her to get hurt by things that he could cause.

After a while, the nervous Darth finally fell into the grasp of sleep. Though sleep was no refuge from his nerves, as his mind tormented him further. What he saw in his dreams was a field of unending ash. As he walked both of his eye's burned. From each direction, he heard one of his friends, who as he turned to face them they fell to ash with a shriek of pain and horror, with the last five being the knights, and the last being Imperious. Then he watched as he himself disintegrated to ash to another version of himself, one broken to the full will of the Darkside, who he could become if he wasn't careful. Then he saw the face of a man that constantly haunted him, taunting him for failing with his curse. He was a man who Malserik assumed would want vengeance for his accidental death, Talos Drellik. Though with that image his sleep thankfully faded into darkness, followed by a calm silence.

* * *

On the other side of Waldstahl in a hanger, in the quarters of her fury, Imperious was laying back in her bed. Thinking of the day to come. She was looking forward to the old Malserik to come back out. Even since the death of Talos Drellik, Malserik hadn't been the same, he changed drastically. Talos was their friend long before they met Balikor and Dornettz, They all worked well together and respected each other. Viridian and her up close with the enemy while supported by Talos who guarded the rear.

The friendship between Malserik and Talos was one spurred on by their mutual love for the ancient. They both had valued history, and it's lessons. When Talos was killed in an attempt on Malserik's life, Malserik was powerless to stop the attack, or that's how the report went. It was at that time Malserik had just taken over Hiskal and in his grief he almost cut all ties to everyone, holding up in Hiskal not letting anyone see him for months. During that time Malserik fixed Hiskal. Needless to say, most of the empire was impressed with how quickly Malserik cleaned up Hiskal.

Ceres herself felt horrible watching Malserik be alone and afraid of people getting hurt because of him, tugged at her normally cold heart. Seeing how afraid Malserik was about people getting hurt by him worried the Sith as it told her there was still a little bit of Jedi still a bit of Jedi in his system that was holding him back. Tomorrow was to be a fun day, however, so Imperious decided it was time to get some rest rather than plan on how to help Malserik with his fear of loss.

She glanced at her full Sith robes in the corner of the room with a smile, a thought, _tomorrow is going to be fun._

* * *

 **AN: Well with this chapter, we have the start of the original chapter six. A chapter I originally cringed at after the fact, as it was a silly filler aside I came up with but after the fact and after Changing it to a full chapter I thought it went well with the story, as it does handle Malserik and Imperious's story, (and bring in a character that hasn't been seen in a while.) I didn't change this chapter that much minus adding a few scenes, and changing a few more things, like the cringy dialogue at the start of the chapter.**

 **Review responses,**

 **Jar Jar Binks: he would be much more than your great uncle, ancestor more like as this story is set in the EU/Legends: The Old Republic AU, so these events are taking place way before episode one. Good review though!**

 **Hornofdesolation: Yeah, I should go back and describe it, but I will leave it up to the imagination as to what he did as a raider. (I had enough for that chapter for the time being.)**

 **JimmyHall24: I am curious as to what you mean by that?**

 **As for the Next chapter, it will be one dedicated to a criminally underused character Lie Ren on Coruscant. It's a new chapter, (I hope it doesn't turn into Jaune's chapter 2.0) Also apologies for the Short AN last chapter, I kind of rushed it with them. Now with all of that out of the way feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	27. Chapter 27: A Day of Shame

**A/N: well this chapter was originally supposed to be all about Lie Ren and his Duties as a Jedi ambassador, but I decided against that, making this chapter include a few new additions to the plot of the story rather than being virtually irrelevant. So here it is Chapter 27: A Day of Shame.**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: A Day of Shame**

* * *

This week for the Jedi, was a week of shame and remembrance of the fallen, as in this week they 'failed' to protect the Republic and their rebuilt order. On this day as Drommund Kaas slept, Lie Ren was communing with the force and data books to find a way to prevent war, to keep the diplomatic peace many thought impossible. Unlike some Jedi, he felt a peaceful coexistence between light and dark was possible, unlike on Remnant, he did not have to fight, he could enjoy peace and serenity. His lightsaber, an oddly shaped weapon designed to pay homage to his old Remnant weapon. which he affectionately named 'Graceful Wind,' had never been drawn to attack only to defend, as that's what it's unorthodox design was meant for. Lie Ren was a master of defense, though he knew eventually he would have to go on the offensive but he would spare his opponent, as he just wanted to help and find Nora and their friends, but alas he was stuck on Coruscant. He had been informed of the disappearance of Jaune this disturbed him, but unlike his Remnant self, he was a much more of an enduring man now, he was a Jedi Guardian after all.

He meditated on his thoughts, he did not like how Master Surik, as she preferred to be named in public, became secluded in her studies like she was preparing for something. Though, he did not know what. Though today he wanted to avoid any and all forms of republic personnel, as they would like in past years just rile up the Jedi and remind them of their of the Sacking, something Summer said would never happen again, but he didn't want to believe a word of it. Especially as of late, as Surik had been accruing support on the council as of late, something Lie Ren did not care for, as she seemed to be withholding information from the council.

Collecting his thoughts on Surik, he stood up, brushing off his forest green robes he looked out of his quarters in the Jedi Embassy on Coruscant. Ren didn't mind his post at the Embassy, it was better than some of the missions that the Jedi had to run right now. He did wish to join Jaune and Blake on their missions at times, especially after Jaune's disappearance, but he was needed at the embassy, as of late, he had been promoted to a full Senate Representative on behalf of the Jedi Council to represent the order.

It was a noble job as he had to convince a vengeful senate, that war was not an option they could take at the moment. The Republic was still rebuilding, as was the Jedi, though the screws on the Jedi had been tightened. As apprehensive as he was about going out today he had to. Walking down the embassy halls, the Republic guards had recently rotated posts, and Ren could sense their disdain for him as he passed their post. Lie Ren knew the entire Republic was going to be like this, course and angry, as the Jedi's shame was shown on full display once again.

The republic's various news sources on the holonet reminded the people of the republic about how the Jedi had 'failed' them back in the Sacking. Documentaries, reports, interviews and other means of information distribution were clogged to the brim with the Jedi's failure, as the people of the Republic viewed this failure as the Jedi's sole fault. They ignored how thinly stretched their numbers were, how most of the Republic forces and fleets were held up elsewhere in the galaxy, while the peace talks on Alderaan were under way. Out of all the failures of the Republic as a whole during the sacking of Coruscant, the Jedi took blame for the failure. As the Republic learned in the sacking their guardian's of the light, the Jedi could not always help them. The public was saying 'they failed to protect the republic, they failed to protect us, they couldn't defend us from the Sith, they failed.' Lie Ren by this point had heard all of it. The people of the Republic had judged the Jedi to be incompetent, not capable of doing their job, despite how unreasonable their expectation of the Jedi was.

Despite that outlook, there was still a portion of senators, other political figureheads, and the population that had faith in the order, though they were a minority. Some of them even still had trust for the order, though they were not public with this trust, as this trust was a cause for controversy for the other citizens of the republic. Even the chancellor, Dorian Janarus, had some sympathy for the Jedi, even seeking their aid at times, but that was kept tightly under wraps as the Senate pushed the Jedi to build them an army, while the press defamed them and used them as a scapegoat for the republic's people to vent on. Though there was some talk in the Jedi of an Imperial Intelligence control in the republic's media, but they didn't have enough evidence to convince the Senate to allow them to investigate this claim, as the Senate wanted an army of Warrior Jedi for the continuation of warfare.

This thought of how war-like the Jedi had become due to the Senate's actions had upset some of the more pacifist elements of the order. As small of a contingent as they were, there were some Jedi who thought the galaxy must have peace, and their argument to some was a legitimate one, as they thought given the instability of the dark side that the Sith would collapse under infighting and the Jedi wouldn't have to lift a finger. Lie Ren himself, didn't believe in such an event happening, he personally wanted the light and the dark to cooperate allowing the force to become balanced, but his views on this matter was his own conclusion and something that would be a heresy to the council, though just like the idea of the Sith wiping themselves out, his ideal outcome was a mere fantasy.

* * *

"Ah, Lie Ren," a calm voice spoke rounding a corner at a T junction behind Lie Ren spoke. Just by the sound, Lie Ren could tell it was his former master Robuke Gulliman. Turning to face the blue-clad Jedi councilor, Lie Ren gave a polite bow before responding with,

"Master Gulliman, how are you doing today?" Ren asked, concerned with his master as of late, as the Republic had been focusing their anger on him.

"aside from disappointment with the Senate and the Republic Media, I am fine," Gulliman replied calmly, "also there has been no word from the Pride of Alderaan, or Knight Arc," Gulliman admitted with a solemn tone, as the Master knew of Lie Ren's concern for his friends. He respected that, and he was thankful that he was confident enough in them that he did not fear for them. Out of all of the lost four, Lie Ren was the most likely to end up on the Jedi council. "Also, Lie Ren, the protesters have gotten back up again, so be careful if you go out of the embassy today,"

"I had no plans on leaving today, Master," Ren replied calmly, he was thankful that he had no duties to attend to outside of the embassy. As another side effect of this week was the sheer amount of people outside of the embassy trying to pester the Jedi. To most Jedi, this sight was an annoyance, something that had to be dealt with. While to Lie Ren, it was a sad sight as they seemingly wanted peace, but yet they had attacked Jedi. They wanted more retribution for the failures of the Jedi, rather than focusing their emotions to something more productive to the safety of the Republic. To these people, the Republic didn't need the archaic Jedi to protect them, they could hold their own against the likes of the Sith, or die trying.

Lie Ren had tried to communicate with the masses prior, but they would not listen at times, and despite all attempts to eject them, they remained camped outside of the embassy compound. Just as Lie Ren was about to continue on his walk, an embassy staff member ran over to the two Jedi, yelling,

"The protester's got riled up again," The staff member yelled as he ran up to Lie Ren and Gulliman, both of whom sighed.

"Master Gulliman, I shall handle this," Lie Ren answered the unspoken call to action. His former master had handed situations like this enough times for this week, it was his time to handle it.

"Be careful Ren, I will come with you" Master Gulliman responded, he was just going to follow him, he wanted to see how Lie Ren could handle a crowd of angry Republic citizens. Along with that, the pragmatic master had a very bad feeling about this. Walking down the halls with his now consular, former padawan, they came across the exterior hall that showed them the courtyard that was serving as the campground for the protesters. The had holograms blaring messages that all fell under the generalized message of 'Get rid of the Jedi,' and 'Disband the Jedi.' Today, the crowd outside were being more violent than usual, as a large rock just hit the glass were Gulliman stood.

"Don't they understand that they need us?" Gulliman asked rhetorically, as outside he felt something new in the force that wasn't a general disapproval. There was a burning beacon of hatred out there.

Lie Ren sensed it as well, though he thoroughly disagreed with the notion that the Republic 'needed' the Jedi. _If enough people want change, who are we to stop it._ Lie Ren thought as he looked outside he saw one man in particular. He noted the scowl on his face, he could feel his anger, this man carried the force unknowingly in his blood. Noting this they continued. Walking down the stairs in the main hall towards the entrance to the embassy the two Jedi readied themselves for the barrage of profanity or maybe even rocks or other projectiles. Gulliman was worried enough that he drew his saber from its slot on his belt at the ready, unignited of course as he didn't want to have to use it.

* * *

Emerging from the safety of the embassy, the two Jedi face a hurl of insults and shouting directed at them. Though they were unfazed by the onslaught. It was at this point Lie Ren raised his hands up making sure the crowd could see. As he held his hands up the crowd calmed down as he projected a feeling of calm and trust to the people. With the crowd silent, Lie Ren began to speak, his normally quiet voice amplified with the force as he spoke.

"Concerned Citizens of the Republic, I am Jedi Consular Lie Ren, I am here to ask, why are you here?" He asked to start off by asking their motives. He knew what their answers were going to be, but he had to ask. The crowd responded with a various number of answers, all fitting within the same parameters of the signs. Though as Lie Ren survey the crowd the same man whom he saw in the window caught his view. He could see this man was in his mid-thirties, clad in a trenchcoat with brown hair, and greenish eyes. He looked grizzled and angry, though unlike the shouting crowd, he was completely silent. Though Lie Ren let him be as he figured he wouldn't be a problem.

* * *

As Lie Ren began pacifying the crowd, trying to focus their anger on getting revenge on the Sith, rather than the Jedi. In the crowd the man that had caught Lie Ren's attention. _Unlike most of these idiot's I have a legitimate grievance with these Jedi,_ The man thought as he pulled out a locket, inside was a picture of two young boys playing. One was himself the other was his lost younger cousin. Despite him being so young, his cousin was like a brother to him so early in life, he had doubts that he would even be remembered by his cousin, but he had to try. His cousin's family was murdered by the Jedi, just to take their son, his cousin. He himself did not have a family yet, he wanted his cousin to come back before he started his own, as a family was hazardous in his line of work. All his life he wanted to find him, now he was here on Coruscant, finally able to complete one of the things he swore he would do as a child. Alas, the Jedi Temple was in ruins, and their temple was now on Tython, a planet he had no access to, this place was his only access to the Jedi.

His father wanted vengeance ever since his brother was murdered by the Jedi, as did the rest of their family on Telos. This will to reconnect one of their family was strong enough for this man that he was willing to kill to let his long lost cousin know he has a family, and that he was welcome back. As one of the images that scarred this man's mind as a boy was watching his uncle die in his own father's arms, as the Jedi left them to die, they had to watch their son be stolen as they perished.

All of the time the Republic did not care about how their Jedi forcefully tore apart families, ignoring their pain. He wanted to gain access to the Jedi, and with how secluded they could be especially with the Sith back. So force was his only way in, and it was a route this man was willing to take as he clicked his blaster pistol up to the highest setting.

As Lie Ren was finishing up his impromptu deescalation speech, the sound of a blaster discharge. he even witnessed the bolt dart behind him. The crowd gave collective gasp, while another voice yelled out over the voice of the crowd,

"If you want into that embassy, I will get you! In," turning around he saw were that blaster bolt had hit. It had hit Master Gulliman in the leg, boring a scorched hole through it. though his master was in shock dropping his lightsaber as he tumbled over. Though before Ren could respond he felt blaster bolt slam into his aura. The impact knocked him off balance, causing him to stagger. He was in shock that someone quickly and rapidly hurt his master. As he turned to face where the blaster shot came from he saw the man in the trenchcoat charging him. His coat now open revealing medium plate armor, like that of a bounty hunter. Though before Ren could grab his saber, he felt himself being pulled and pushed down by a group of extreme dissidents from the crowd as the rest of the crowd of rioters took cover.

* * *

The bounty hunter completely ignored Lie Ren, instead, he went for the main door into the Embassy, he wanted to get in, so he could gain access to their communications network. Aside from that, the young Jedi wasn't worth his wrath. Setting a detonator charge on the door, triggering it with a button on his gauntlet which was now exposed due to a rolled up sleeve. Ducking down, the door was blasted inwards.

With the door out of his way, he darted into the main hall, upon entry he fired at the two shocked guards. Two blue bolts slammed into their chest armor, slamming them back unconscious glancing behind him there were a few extreme Anti-Jedi elements behind him, he didn't care about what they were going to do, he just wanted access to the Jedi comm's network so he could get on to Tython by intercepting a few security clearance codes.

At least this crowd would serve well as a distraction, pulling the layout of the embassy on a holo-projector on his wrist. He knew right where to go.

Outside Lie Ren and Gulliman had been pulled back and away by the concerned protesters, not letting the more extreme elements hurt them. Most of these people wanted a peaceful protest, not a violent break in. as the to Jedi awoke to the concerned citizens stood well and clear out of their way. Gulliman, despite the wound to his leg, was able to stand. Lie Ren was, for the most part, unharmed though his fall did give him a slight headache. They could feel the terror and fear surrounding them and in the embassy. Realizing they didn't have much time the two Jedi bolted back into the Embassy. Inside they saw the more extreme elements of the protest inside the main hall, in response to this Gulliman ignited his saber, carving a swath through them.

At that moment Ren felt it, his master's anger it was seething through with each strike. His strikes were fluid like a dance. After he finished the strike on the extremists, another Jedi knight who was at the embassy entered the main hall.

"Master Gulliman, We have reports of a breach in the main communication room," The knight yelled as he held his humming blue lightsaber at his side, "Someone is trying to remotely access the archives!"

"Ren and I will handle it, you take care of the situation, out here," The normally calm Jedi Master growled. His master was a normally peaceful man, Ren seeing him like this was quite a shock. Something he had sensed had disturbed him.

* * *

The bounty hunter had made his way into the communications room, inside he had started downloading all of the security codes he could find. Along with that, he was also looking around in the system for anything related to his cousin. That's when he found the after mission council chamber recording of his cousin's recruitment, he saw an old council, they were not upset with this Jedi, instead they were sympathetic, viewing the death of the parents as a 'necessary action,' as the child was 'extremely gifted in the force.' This made the bounty hunter want to smash the screen though he then saw some classified archive files linked to the recruitment. He saw images of his cousin's training.

Entering the communication's room Gulliman and Lie Ren saw the bounty hunter who caused this incident. He turned around to face them a smirk on his face as a hologram played on the display, in the center of the room, Lie Ren saw the event it depicted it was of a Jedi driven mad, cutting down his brethren. The blade of the Jedi was that of a greenish-blue hue, and he was holding his right hand over his right eye. He was a remarkable duelist, then he revealed his eye to a specific master and that Zabrak fell to the floor, writhing in agony, then fading to ash. Gulliman was visibly shaken by this clip, it was at that moment in the clip, he saw his younger self appear in the holographic battle only to be swatted away with a force push.

"You find what you were looking for, bounty hunter?" Gulliman inquired with a hiss as he pointed his lightsaber at the intruder. He was allowing him to respond, then he was going to cut him down

"I did, and then some, it seems my cousin did my job for me," The bounty hunter taunted as Lie Ren had his own saber at the ready. "also I sent the council room footage related to his recruitment to the Media," This one fact, made the Jedi master lose it, Gulliman's rage brewed over and charged the bounty hunter, who dodged his initial strike then he purposely slammed his left bracer into the blade of Gulliman's lightsaber. The look on the Jedi Master's face was one of pure terror as his blade fizzled and sputtered till deactivation moments later.

Seeing his master disarmed, Lie Ren retaliated by igniting his green-bladed lightsaber and advanced quickly and unpredictably, though he quickly saw his blade intercepted by the dark metal gauntlet. Then he was hit by a kick to the stomach as his blade fizzled out. Sent back to the main comms table, slamming into it. Lie Ren was unsure what just happened, as was his master. As he looked to the side he saw a name, one he only heard spoken quietly and secretly, Viridian Malserik.

Gulliman also saw the name on the screens, though he didn't need it to inform him that the Malserik curse still held. It was at this point the Jedi felt sharp pains as four more blaster bolts tore through his robes and armor. They were immobilization shots, shots that severed the nerves in his arms and legs preventing movement, along with causing excruciating pain. With the way this hunter was equipped, he was experienced with dealing with force users, and he came prepared. Smirking at the downed Jedi, he asked one question to him,

"So where is my cousin? Where is Viridian Malserik!?" He asked letting his rage flow a bit as he pointed the blaster at the Jedi who realized the bounty hunter missed the nerves in his left arm. Pulling his saber that had fallen to the floor after he was immobilized into his left hand. He slashed at the bounty hunter by whipping the blade telekinetically through the air. The bounty hunter just barely dodged the strike, as the tip of the blade seared a mark across his left cheek.

Lie Ren saw this as he tried to recover from the kick he just suffered, it was at that moment, the young consular knew what this man was using, he was using Teräs Käsi, force imbued marshal arts. That explained how this bounty hunter could keep pace with the Jedi, it was at this point this bounty hunter retaliated to the Jedi's attack, by firing his blaster pistol into his head. The Jedi master's body went completely slack as he was killed instantly.

Ren witnessed this and threw himself forward with igniting his blade not going for the body but his blaster. Filled with anger, he dissected the blaster pistol, though in the action the Bounty hunter retaliated with a sharp kick to his thigh as he dove to the floor. Lie Ren was confused by his actions, though he quickly saw what he was going for, his master's lightsaber which he did grab. Rebounding up, the bounty hunter ignited the blade and attacked Lie Ren, who deftly parried, the strike then in anger he pushed the offensive, something he did not normally do.

The Bounty hunter could feel the young Jedi's anger with each strike, he was glad he found that one Holocron that educated him about how the Jedi were trained and how to use their weaponry. Though after a few more bouts destroying most of the consoles in the room with their lightsabers. Eventually, the bounty hunter slammed his blade into the power conduit, causing the lights in the room go out eclipsing them in darkness. Though the fight quickly progressed out into the hallway as Ren's rage burned like a candle, as a man who had been his ally and friend was now dead. Once in the hallway, Lie Ren saw a perfect slip up on the bounty hunter's part. Engaging the special feature of his lightsaber, a second shorter blade parallel to the main one, built into the handguard. Using this second blade he forked the bounty hunters blade, then twisted the lightsaber blade out of his hand.

With his opponent disarmed, he deactivated his second blade and slammed him up against the wall with a violent force push. With his opponent's back to a wall, he stood there, he wanted to kill him. There was a nagging feeling telling him to kill him, but before he could strike the reason in his mind kicked back in, remembering an oath he made to himself, he was not to kill, no matter how much he felt it to be justified.

"Who are you?" The Jedi as of the bounty hunter, The bounty hunter chuckled as Ren shifted his saber around till it was almost up against his throat. The Mistralan Jedi's face was tense with anger as his eyes Narrowed at the bounty hunter, who smirked, seemingly admitting defeat as he saw four more Jedi formed upon the young green-clad ambassador.

"I am Zaffre Malserik, cousin of Viridian Malserik," He smirked as he knew he was defeated. "So what, are you going to kill me now?" He asked legitimately concerned, but the Jedi's response was unexpected,

"No you are under arrest for an attack on the Jedi Embassy, and the Murder of Master Gulliman," With that one of the four Jedi cuffed the bounty hunter, and escorted him to the brig for holding. He was going to Tython later to face trial at the hand of the Jedi. Lie Ren went to go check on his Master, seeing his corpse disappointed the green-clad Jedi, not at the fact he was dead, but the darkness that he could feel on his corpse. His master had fallen to darkness in death, which made Lie Ren contemplate, _How does Malserik's name accrue so much hatred?_ At this point, the green-clad consular left the room, and he was informed that the Republic was trying to get a hold of the ambassador, and with Gulliman dead, Ren had to take his place, and he had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

In the meeting, the Senators started to read the young Jedi a riot act, ss the Republic's media was sent leaked information on a botched recruitment. The were already airing it on the Holonet, the word had gotten out, Lie Ren felt shame when he had to explain the situation. Which led the more verbose senators to call the Jedi order, 'incompetent' and 'inept.' while those who scorned the Jedi felt further validation as this footage was leaked, and the media had already crafted a narrative to further shame the Jedi. As the day came to an end Lie Ren knew the shame of the Jedi order as he made his report back to the council on Tython. As the day came to an end, the young Jedi had known that while the Republic was filled with vengeance and scorn, sickened by defeat. The Sith Empire was Joyous and celebratory on the anniversary of their victory.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that this is the Chapter, I wanted to add a new plot element to the story in the form of a new character, along with keeping with explaining some background. So now we have some more family for Malserik, Zaffre is a new character I came up with for a future plot point, along with that I needed someone to test Lie Ren a bit so I figured a vengeful bounty hunter would do the trick. He is going to be a tricky character for future events. (Post Rewrite events) Also with this chapter, I wanted to focus on the Republic's view of their 'Protectors' as I think a population of a major city world would still be quite bent up that their great defenders let their capital planet be sacked.**

 **As for Zaffre, he's got his motives and history. And fun fact, Viridian Malserik is from Telos, he was born on Citadel Station. So Hope people like this Chapter, as, unlike Jaune's chapter I had fun writing this!**

 **Review responses**

 **JimmyHall24: that is something I will explain in a later chapter.**

 **Hornofdesolation: Yup.**

 **As for the next chapter, a Sithly party. Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**

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 **Edit: Thank you to JimmyHall24 for calling out how I flubbed up this chapter, so I went back and addressed the issues they brought up in their review. Thanks to which I have a new interesting sub-plot going on, and now the Jedi have become the Republic people's scapegoat, not by much of a fault of their own.**


	28. Chapter 28: A Day of Celebration

**A/N: Just an advisory, Chapter 27 had some details changed, I would recommend going back and having a look at it. With that out of the way, here is Chapter 28: A Day of Celebration.**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: A Day of Celebration**

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The night had passed like the day that passed on Coruscant, Malserik was in his quarters recovering from a nightmare, he had eye patch off as he looked into the bathroom mirror. He stared at his corrupted eye. __My curse, the one I must live with, I adapted to it, made it so I didn't have to use it. By the force, Viridian, listen to yourself you're ashamed, get yourself together, you need to accept this power. Though one slip up someone I care about could die from it.__ Malserik just wanted to slam his face into the mirror as his conflicted mind struggled to resolve itself. His hatred of this eye had been slowly driving him mad after he realized it couldn't be turned off. He had numerous times thought about ripping the damn thing out after Talos's demise. The only reason he hadn't was because he feared it would jump to his other eye leaving him blinded, not that that is an issue for a Jedi or a Sith, as he already used the force to compensate for his eye-patch, he just found the Idea of seeing through the force very unappealing.

"Viridian get a hold of yourself, you put yourself in this position," Malserik said talking to himself, trying to calm himself down, "So get yourself together and put anything about your damn eye away and get ready," Malserik continued to himself, due to his frequent isolation in his work he often found himself to be his only company, making Malserik's conversations with himself all the more frequent. He groaned as he, though, I _mperious is probably getting ready herself, goodness knows how long that is going take._

As he was going to put on his standard outfit, he remembered something he had not touched since Imperious gave it to him as a gift for training Weiss. Remembering it, he looked in his closet and saw what he was looking for an outfit Imperious designed and tailored to him. Figuring it to be a special occasion, and that it would make Ceres happy to see him in it, he pulled it out of the closet.

Though, if that was one thing Malserik couldn't understand about Imperious, it was her clothing obsession. Though he found the long flat box. He opened it and he saw an outfit much like his own, though much more elaborate though on top he found a note he never read.

* * *

Viridian,

Knowing you, you probably won't ever wear this, but you know I've wanted to make something for you for a long time now, it's like your normal outfit, which you have too many duplicates of for me to try to make you anything too different, also don't use the sleeves on the coat unless it is really cold, looks better that way. As I said knowing you, you probably won't wear it, though if you ever find yourself in it, let me know and send pictures!

You know who I am.

* * *

Malserik took the outfit out of the box and laid it out on his bed. It was very much like his normal outfit though it was darker and had decorative gunmetal embroideries accenting the jade color lining. The changes Imperious had made were to the belt it now had a shoulder strap that went across his chest and over his shoulder and back across his back. The sweater he wore under his outfit was jade in color. The leather tunic was embroidered at its edges, accenting it nicely. Then he saw the trench coat it was designed to look like a military coat, it's design was elaborate, and was meant to be worn over this outfit though it was also designed to replace his cloak. He began to get dressed in this new outfit, it was comfortable much more so due to the silk lining. As he began putting the shoulder strap on. As he did this he realized the joke still held, he still looked like an officer. Chuckling, he continued putting the coat on and per Imperious's instructions he rested it on his shoulders and did not use the sleeves. Going back to the box he found a set of gloves to go with this outfit along with a comm bracer like the one he wore on his right arm. That's when he noticed a small box with Imperious's writing on it. It read

* * *

To better protect what you keep hidden under that patch.

Handmade by yours truly.

* * *

Malserik opened the box, it was a much larger eye patch with the gunmetal embroidery, designed to go with the outfit. He could feel the care Ceres went through to make this for him, despite not knowing his curse. With this in mind, he ripped his current patch off, and quickly put on this new one. With Imperious's outfit on, he looked at himself in the mirror as he mounted SturmKreig on the front right of his belt instead of the back. He chuckled to himself "The Baron of Waldstahl, Damn you Ceres, you do good work," he smiled wickedly, walking out of the room. Earning glances from his troops who could feel his new found confidence. Something that was reflected in his posture and way he walked, he had the walk of an officer walking through a line of his troops.

As he walked he got used to the coat clipped to his shoulders like a cape. It was an odd weight on his shoulder's but it fit one the titles the people of Hiskal gave him, 'The Baron of Waldstahl' Walking through the halls he encountered Neopolitan who was doing her rounds, through the fortress.

"Ah, Neo, can I bother you for a second," Malserik asked, sounding quite happy as he approached the shorter officer.

"Yes my lord, What can I help you with?" Neo asked in her accented voice with a pleasant smile, unsure of what Malserik was going to bother her with, as he was supposed to be leaving for that party with Roman in a bit.

"Please be honest, how do I look?" Malserik asked with a bright smile that looked almost out of place. Neo looked at her boss for anything she could critique the only thing she could note was the new outfit, it was different. Aside from that, he looked quite nice in the new clothes, which begged the question in Neo's mind, _Where did he get this outfit?_

"You look excellent My lord, I think Imperious will like the new outfit," Neo replied with a smile, being honest. With her opinion in mind, Malserik's confidence was boosted tenfold.

* * *

In the main living area of Waldstahl, Ruby and Weiss were in the outfits Imperious made for them, they were very much like sith inquisitor robes, though they didn't have all of the metal and fancy gadgets that most inquisitor's carried. They also didn't have the long dress like appearance that the more modern robes had, they instead looked more like traditional robes that the Sith of old would have worn. The designs were unique to each of them, as Ruby's black and red robes with gold accents, looked more Mistralian in design, with shorter sleeves with almost arm length gloves. Ruby also had her harness on her to display her sabers.

Weiss's outfit looked more like something Malserik would wear, looking like an amalgamation of Sith robe and an officer's uniform with a feminine twist. The coloration of these robes was different than the black and white Weiss had gotten used to, this outfit was primarily storm gray with white and dark blue accents. Though both of the knights had their signature cloaks on, as that is what earned them the nicknames the Dove and Raven of Hiskal.

Imperious wore an entirely different outfit, her full Sith robes. Complete with regalia and armor. Though she made an addition of a bright red cape which made Ruby smile, though Ruby also couldn't help but feel imperious looked out of place in that outfit, but she didn't want to offend her master by telling her she didn't look right in that outfit. Though, this thought was interrupted by imperious saying,

"I thought Viridian would be ready by now, It is our job to make him wait on us," Imperious huffed as Ruby laughed and Weiss snickered, though she had a concerned air to her, as Malserik made a point of being punctual and quick.

"Yeah that's our job, I wonder what he's doing?" Ruby asked as Weiss looked concerned, she was praying Malserik wasn't going to do something over the top, or even worse, stupid.

"Hey Roman, you didn't tell Malserik to put on guyliner I hope," Imperious said joking at the criminal's expense. This question caused the man to groan as he turned to face the three dark ladies behind him.

"No, even I stopped doing that when Malserik made me start wearing this uniform, under his request," Roman responded with a chuckle as he envisioned Viridian with eyeliner on his one eye.

It was at that moment the four heard the pneumatic of the door hiss open. Malserik walked through it pridefully, he looked like an officer with the coat draped over his shoulders. On his face was a proud smile, and a confident look, he knew this was a good move on his part. The outfit made Imperious go wide-eyed at the sight. As he walked forward, she started mumbling, "He did it, he actually did it," she was in shock seeing him wearing the full outfit, not pieces, no the whole thing. Malserik noted the look on the dark lord's face and smiled.

"I trust I'm not too terribly late, I was composing myself," Malserik said as he walked up to the still slack-jawed imperious.

"You're wearing it! You are wearing it!" Imperious cheered, her mind in overdrive as she bolted towards Viridian, "You are actually wearing it!"

"Yes, today is a special occasion for a special outfit," Malserik smiled, as he caught Ceres in a hug despite the heavy Metal on her Inquisitor Robes, "Now, I think we are ready, yes?" the answer was a resounding yes.

* * *

The flight out to the Leers manor was a relaxing one. Ruby and Weiss chatting while Imperious and Malserik were joking around. It was obvious both couples knew a lot about the other as they had told most of their stories by this point. As they touched down at the manor, Ruby and Weiss were in awe, as it was about the same size as Waldstahl, though not on the top of a mountain. They saw the crowd of dark clad Sith entering the main hall. It seemed this was a massive event and not just some peon party. Entering the hall, a magnificently decorated place, massive ceiling, very Gothic cathedral like architecture, with red imperial banners hanging from each of the struts. Ruby and Weiss were in awe of the structure. As they entered the hell of all of the looks fell on the five from the other Sith in the hall, but one Darth in fine red robes his face showing Darkside corruption, emerged from the crowd of black and red robes.

"Darth Imperious, Darth Malserik, Welcome to my celebration," the Darth bowed showing a humble nature, "your arrivals were most. Unexpected."

"I must say Darth Leers, We needed to unwind," Malserik gestured confidently, He knew Leers was an honest man for a Sith, "So we thank you for your generous invitation." Imperious continue knowing what Malserik was going to say.

"Well since you two are veterans of the Sacking of Coruscant," the Darth said, "please go up to the main tables on the stage, it is reserved seating for veterans and their apprentices, your officer, however, will be on his own."

"Eh, I'll be fine, don't worry about little old me, I'll stick to my kind," Roman said as he sauntered off into the crowd. Ruby and Weiss watched him go into the area where the High Moffs and other various personnel were celebrating. The four Sith made their way to the stage, the crowds parted to make way for Malserik and Imperious, this was the first time Weiss and Ruby could see how much fear and respect they commanded among the Sith. The lords looked at the Ceres and Viridian with fear, the Darths with ambition and scorn. They themselves got looks of disgust like they were wastes of life. Though, quick glares from the two young Sith quickly made lords back down.

On the stage, they found seats at an eight person circular table, Imperious sitting next to Ruby who was sitting next to Weiss while Imperious sat next to Malserik. Viridian by this point had grabbed an itinerary, Leers was a strange man when it came to how he did things. It showed this was the meet and greet part of the party. In fifteen minutes the recognition of the veterans and their apprentices would begin. That's when two more Darth and their apprentices took a seat at the table the four looked up and saw familiar faces Darth Volitika and Velocitous along with their apprentices, Ryaka and Korva.

"Strange seeing you four here," the Chiss smiled pleasantly, "though it is good seeing friends here."

"Also Malserik changed out of that outfit he normally wears and put on fancier one color me impressed," Volitika teased the 'one eyed' man, "and the designs tell me Imperious made it, so good job on making Malserik change," Revecca teased further.

"He actually wore it out of his own volition, Revecca," Imperious said with a smile as Volitika looked at Imperious like she was mad. Velocitous, on the other hand, looked mildly amused by the conversation. As he saw something in the man he hadn't seen in a long time, confidence, and pride, though before he could comment he was interrupted by an announcement from the podium.

"Darths, Lords, Apprentices, and others, I welcome you to my annual celebration of the day we Sith strangled the Republic and sacked Coruscant reminding them of how fragile their peace is, behind me on the stage are Darths and Lords who took part in the event," Leers spoke as he gestured back to the people on stage, "as tradition for this celebration I would like all the veterans to come forward and announce who they are and if applicable introduce their apprentices, remember this event is to honor those who made the Republic feel our wrath."

* * *

The Veterans all walked up and introduced themselves in whatever order, though Darth Marr, who was present with his entourage of Sith went first, He was a Sith on the Dark Council that Imperious could respect, as he was not overtly hostile to her like Malgus was, and that's who came next after Marr. Due to her position as a Dark Councilor, Imperious was next in line, followed by Malserik. Standing up with Ruby following closely at her side they stood together at the podium. Not many of the Sith had fully seen Ruby yet so she was quite happy to show off her apprentice.

"Good day my fellow Sith, this is my first year in attendance of this glorious event. I did not know Darth Leers could put up a show such as this. I am quite impressed by this and happy to be here, as Leers is a member of the Sphere of Knowledge, and I never expected this of a party from one of my subordinates," Imperious explained calmly though with a hint of excitement in her voice, she was impressed that someone could organize and event like this. "Also I would like to introduce my apprentice, and yes I actually have taken an apprentice who has completed her formal training under me. I would like to present her, The Raven of Hiskal, Lord Ruby Rose," With this announcement Ruby lowered her hood. Showing her face to the crowd.

After Imperious's introduction, Malserik took toward the podium with Weiss in toe. Much to a universal groan among the crowd. Though, before he could speak, Leers wanted to add something rerouting the microphone on the podium to a secondary one in his hand.

"Alright, I know Malserik is not someone who is a popular character in our Empire, as a matter of fact, he is scorned due to his past as a Jedi, but he is a Sith more so than some of us. He killed enough Jedi to sate any of our thirsts for blood. This man is to the Jedi a traitor so grand, his sins are unredeemable in their eyes. He was a prodigy under his master but with the death of his family to abduct him, he immersed himself in darkness, emerging he slaughter his master and the Jedi who killed his parents. then preceded to kill the rest of the Jedi in his way," Leers spoke long-windedly about Malserik who wanted to interrupt but Leers then continued with, "And yesterday this story was leaked from the Jedi Embassy by a bounty hunter to the Media, which we control, and is being used to further drive a wedge between the Jedi and the people of the republic," Malserik, who to say the least was not a fan of the way Leers worded his speech about him, though he was quite interested in the leak from the embassy. This was not enough, however, to prevent Malserik from doing something bold. Going forward as Leers cleared out of his way, Malserik put his foot down on the gentlemanly Sith by igniting his viridian lightsaber, with the blade pointed at Leers's throat as he stood on the podium and spoke.

"Unlike what Leers thinks, I can bring my own merits to this metaphoric table, and I can explain who I am, myself," Malserik hissed at Leers and the crowd, as he withdrew the blade of his lightsaber deactivating it causing Leers to sigh, "And the merit I bring to this table is my former apprentice, Lord Weiss Schnee, the Dove and heiress to Hiskal" Malserik's voice boomed, instilling fear into the weaker lords. This was the voice he used when inspiring his personal troops or the populace of Hiskal. "She is my prodigy and like me, she will fell any Lords or Darths that dare challenge her or Hiskal," Malserik continued flaring his hand out to emphasize the point he was making, much like he would do in his regular addresses to his people. This tone he took was a warning to all those who would attempt to end him, it was a tone that said 'Don't test him or Hiskal.' Aside from appearing as bold, as a Darth should, he was also putting on a show for Imperious, he was pushing his confidence and boldness to new levels, just for her.

* * *

After the stage drama and getting their food. The Visorium order's members sat at their table and enjoyed a good meal with the sound of a band playing slow calm ambient music and low conversation in the background alongside the chatter and clatter of silverware. Ruby and Weiss lamented the loss of the foods they had on Remnant. Ruby truly missed her cookies and strawberries. she even proclaimed at the table, if she could go to Remnant, she would come back with means to make every food Item on Remnant. so the Empire could have good tasty food as she put it, 'Like Strawberries.' Imperious chuckled at this idea. Korva and Ryaka looked like they wanted to be somewhere else entirely, as they realized they were dealing with two pairs of lovers, along with their masters.

Though, Weiss and Ruby seemed to not be going for the romantic side, just having fun as a couple and that included Ruby doing a bit of looking around, looking for the lightsabers on the belts of the Lords and Darths to see what they used. though she saw nothing exciting just sharp and pointy hilts, even some that looked downright uncomfortable to hold. Eventually Malserik and Imperious found themselves alone at the table as Ruby and Weiss went with Korva and Ryaka to go outside to watch the airshow over Kaas City, Velocitous and Volitika left to go talk to a few other Darths from the academy on Korriban. Sitting there alone Malserik stared into off into space as he relaxed back sipping from his glass of wine he obtained from one of the Rutan Twi'leks walking around serving beverages. He was reading a datapad that Leers had gotten him on the topic of the Jedi leak. It was interesting as an independent individual was responsible for the leak, not Imperial Intelligence. The story was twisted to make it seem like the Jedi broke Malserik into becoming a Sith. Also, Imperial Intelligence had logged that this information was even further bending the Republic away from their Jedi protectors. Malserik saved the data onto a storage device on his wrist commlink for later reading and analysis, while Imperious fidgeted with her robes. Looking up at her, Malserik could tell she was obviously uncomfortable in them, he had worn similar ones long ago.

"I remember how you always said you hated those robes," Malserik commented teasingly at Imperious. "Your normal light robes are much better suited to you, you don't have enough wrinkles dark veins or eye corruption to pull off that look-"

"Hey!-" Imperious retaliated by interrupting Viridian, only to be interrupted by Malserik in retaliation.

"Ceres, you look too good to be in Sith robes, you're like Bastila Shan or Satele, the standard robes would detract from your look more than it adds to it," Malserik explained at the offended Imperious, looking into her blue eyes as he did. "Really, it's not your style leave the Sith robes for Dyekar, those eyes don't match the robes at all." Imperious who was now standing to lean on the table, looking like she wanted to stab Malserik for what he said, calmed down taking a seat as she replied with,

"Okay you made your point, I should stick to my normal outfit," Imperious grumbled, she was trying to be fancy for the party but Viridian was right the standard Sith outfit did not fit her style, though it did answer a question she asked Viridian long ago, "So you do like my standard outfit!"

"I do, it compliments who you are," Malserik smiled taking another sip from his glass, remembering the question she asked him so long ago. "Also, I never answered that question out of fear of you not feeling the same way I did."

"You were scared of me?" Imperious asked, curious of why he would fear her, leaning forward in the chair.

"Considering you killed the three other Darths that were trying to suit you, I believe my fear was well founded," Malserik Chuckled as he realized Imperious blushed, she completely forgot about that, "and it was also out of fear of my eye, and not my left one."

"So you're going to tell me what the problem with your eye is, finally?" Imperious smiled she was glad to finally hear him being forward about it.

"I will," Malserik said setting down his glass, his voice quaking, he needed to tell her everything, even about Talos, "you deserve to know after all," Malserik continued as he leaned forward heart racing, nervously interlacing his fingers. "It started after I found out about the whole situation with my parents from the Jedi databanks, I went mad, secretly hoarding Sith holocrons, in one of those holocrons, it taught me a technique that allowed me to kill who every my gaze fell upon, and it isn't a painless death."

"Though, the downside is it doesn't shut off?" Imperious interrupted with her guess.

"Exactly, it remained active in my right eye, and I must cover it, lest I want to hurt all those I care about," Malserik said hanging his head, one of the few times Imperious saw Malserik ashamed of who he was, he was afraid of the power in his eye, it was why he ran. "Talos found that out by accident," Malserik admitted.

He expected to hear Imperious ignite Castle or Jackal, but no he instead felt Imperious rush over to embrace him. Imperious now understood Malserik's caution, his apprehension, and his fear. One slip up, and someone dies. It clicked with Ceres, why he ran to Hiskal and took up the post, getting away from those he cared about to protect them from himself. He had already claimed one of their lives. There was a side of her that wanted to punish Malserik for his actions, though her heart told her, Malserik has suffered enough, he punished himself. Putting her hand on the eye patch she made herself for him.

"You don't have to fear your eye any longer, Viridian," Imperious smiled as she hugged him, "I want to help you overcome it and adapt to it," Imperious whispered to the Sith in her embrace.

Malserik didn't know how to respond to what he heard, he felt the water welling in his eyes. Blinking it away, he hugged Imperious back. The only thing he could say was,

"Thank you,"

* * *

Returning back into the hall, Ruby and Weiss were smiling, the flights of fighters over Kaas City were over. The cliff the manor was on gave a very excellent view of the city and all of its glory. As they walked back in they saw Malserik and Imperious embracing each other at the table, Ruby could feel from afar that Malserik was stressed, worried but thankful, while Imperious was content and proud. Ruby realized Maslerik had most likely told her the secret beneath of his eye patch. Rather than disturb that tender moment, Ruby suggested,

"I don't think we should disturb them," Ruby blurted out about Malserik and Imperious, as the lights dimmed and focused on the stage with Darth Leers standing at the podium,

"With the conclusion of the Air show, dessert, and various other refreshments are available and also if any feel the need to move, a section of the main hall has been cleared for dancing. for those looking for more exotic dancing, there are back rooms for that. If none of that caters to your fancy, there are various other forms of entertainment." The lights returned to normal it was at that moment Weiss smiled as she knew what she wanted to do, Dance.

"Ruby, now that we are done watching the fighters we are going to dance," Weiss was not suggesting to Ruby, she was ordering as despite how many dates they had gone on they had only danced once and that was back on Remnant. Ruby was nervous of the idea but this time she wasn't in lady stilts so she figured she may be a bit more competent on the dance floor.

"Well, let's go!" Ruby smiled as she turned to look Weiss in the eye, as she took her glove off her right hand exposing the mechanics. Inspired by Malserik clearing the air with his eye, Ruby wanted to do the same with her arm, a thing Weiss was uncomfortable with.

Weiss noted this and questioned her reasoning nervously, "Why did you take your glove off?"

"Because I am tired of hiding it from you Weiss, you need to accept that this arm, it is part of who I am now," Ruby said extending her the expose robotic hand to Weiss to take it. If anything could discomfort Weiss it was prosthetics, like Ruby's. Sure it wasn't a complete skeletal prosthetic but the interior workings of the arm were exposed with plate bent black and brass plates for a stylistic formation to keep the shape of a forearm. With the glove on Weiss would not have hesitated taking Ruby's hand but with her arm exposed, she cringed as she grabbed it. She felt the cold metal and the twitching of the servos and motors in her hand, it felt weird and unnatural to Weiss when Ruby pulled her along by it. Following behind Ruby, they found their way to the dancing area, where a lot of the officers and a few Sith were dancing.

* * *

 **A/N: the next chapter will continue where this one has left off. As for what I did here, I tied in the events that were added to Chapter 27 along with editing a few scenes. Once again I couldn't really think of much to change for this chapter minus attempting to make it more romantic.**

 **Review Response.**

 **JimmyHall24: Thank you for the review of Chapter 27, this is the type of thing I like to see. I looked back at what I wrote after reading your review, and I realized I biffed up on the entirely on how I handled the response to the Sacking of Coruscant in the prior chapter. I have since gone back and corrected the issue, addressing what occurred in full, adding some new elements to it. Mainly to make it seem more realistic in response along with some background manipulation. With that in mind I think due to this, Chapter 27 is better off than it was.**

 **Next chapter will be an unorthodox rescue along with a continuation of the party and the reintroduction of another character. Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	29. Chapter 29: An Unexpected Reunion

**Alright, part 2 of the party, Chapter 29: An Unexpected Reunion.**

* * *

 **Chapter 29:** **An Unexpected Reunion**

* * *

While the main party continued in the hall, Roman was in the back room with the 'exotic dancing,' he was having a good time as a few officers and loner Sith enjoyed the shows the dancers put on. Though, Roman was disappointed. As it was all non-human, minus a select few, he didn't hate the aliens, he found it not to his tastes. Though, one human, in particular, one that earned his immediate and undivided attention, she was gorgeous, looked a bit like Weiss in a way though due to the light he couldn't tell the hair color as it matched the lighting hinting it was a pale blonde, her eyes were pure ice blue. Though he couldn't help but feel sad for her as he looked into her eyes, she seemed dead inside like something broke her. That's when one officer not enjoying the show decided to smack the poor woman across the face. Though he saw a weak aura take some of the blow, Roman's once thought dead heart strings were tugged. Drawing his blaster pistol, he leveled it at the officer, in defense of the Remnant.

"Oh, you don't like what I did, you insubordinate whelp," the officer spit on Roman, "you aren't even Imperial Military, your part of the Hiskal Guard, such a pitiful group of sods, She's a worthless slave, not something you should be wasting your time on."

"First off, don't ever tell me how to think," Roman hissed at the Imperial Officer, as he flipped his blaster around and whipped him across the face with it, slamming him to the ground unconscious as the other officers took note but did not assist either parties. "By Monty, I hit harder than I thought," Roman said amused as he kneeled down like he would to one of his guardsmen if they were injured, "you okay?" He asked offering his hand to the shocked woman.

"I am okay, no one has shown any concern for my well being in a while," She said taking his hand as officer started to recover. Though it was at this point Roman Realized as the lighting normalized this woman was a relative of Weiss's, her older sister maybe.

"Come with me," Roman said with a stern look on his face.

"I can't," she said as she pointed at her shock collar.

He internally cursed as he needed to know something, now, "What is your Name?"

"Winter Schnee," She responded confirming Roman's suspicions, by this point in time he knew what he needed to do. Pressing a button on his commlink bracer, he dialed the one man that could help. Once he heard the click on the other end he stated,

"My lord, this is Roman,"

"Roman? What do you need?" Malserik inquired, concerned why Roman would be contacting him now of all times. On Roman's end, Winter went wide eyed as she realized who her savior was, Roman Torchwick. Her face distorted with terror though Roman signaled at her to calm down, the last thing he needed was her to freak out now.

"Check with Leers on buying a Winter Schnee, she's one of the slaves in the strip club back here," Roman Spoke as he calmed Winter as the officer made intimate with the grip of his pistol, got back up and drew his blaster on Roman.

The Silence on Malserik's end was paramount "Okay, I will take care of it, Roman, bring her here," as the line terminated little did he know Roman had engaged the officer. After a few second the officer had fired, Roman's aura tanked the blaster bolt to his chest. It still hurt though it dissipated the damaged, d _ _amn it! Why the hell did I not shoot first!__ Roman cursed internally as he raised his blaster up and fired.

* * *

Sitting at the table Malserik was shocked a what he heard. Weiss had mentioned her sister and brother on numerous occasions to him, so he knew her name. Sitting there with Imperious Malserik sat confused.

"What is it Malserik, What did Roman want?" Imperious asked as they heard a faint muffled blaster shot. Everything nearby stopped for a second before everyone just shrugged their shoulders, that's when another blaster shot rang out, this time earning Malserik's attention he raised his hand up and said he was going to investigate.

walking back, he saw Leers doing the same, going into the exotic dancing section as well going back there. he telekinetically pulled his saber from his belt. As he entered the exotic dancing section a crowd had formed around an Imperial officer's corpse on the floor with a blaster bolt scorch mark on his forehead, and Roman standing there with the barrel of his blaster, Leer's ignited his saber and prepared to strike Roman down along with the slave but before he could, Malserik ignited his saber and dashed in, parrying Leers' Strike. The Viridian blade crackled as the crimson blade slammed into the floor and locked it there.

"Leers, I must regretfully inform you Mister Torchwick is under my protection. Lest you want to test your mettle on me, I would back down so we could come to a mutual agreement," Malserik said not moving an inch in the saber lock, "Roman had his reason to fire upon this officer, the officer was the first to employ lethal force, not my guardsman." With that sentence spoken Leers disengaged his lightsaber, his face riddled with fear, he knew from his studies of Malserik's stories, if he makes an offer to take it, he knew plenty of Sith who he tried to make deals for if they turned it down and pressed the fight, he struck them down.

Winter looked up at the man with the Viridian blade, who saved her and Roman from death at the hands of her Master. She witnessed her master buckle as Roman stood up saluting him. The man Roman referred to as his 'lord' quickly offered her a hand so she may stand. His one eye seemed to give her a once over before he turned to face the man who just tried to strike her and Roman down. He pulled out a chip from his pocket and clicked it into a port on his gauntlet. Seemingly adjusting something, he quickly took the chip out and tossed it to the man saying,

"one hundred thousand credits, plus ten thousand for the dead officer, that good enough?" The one-eyed man inquired, as her master took out a tablet and plugged the chip in. He waited for a second before replying.

"Yes, that is very good Malserik," Darth Leers smiled as Malserik's deal was more than fair. "she is all yours," Leer's smiled as he walked away as the crowd cleared out. Malserik looked at the scantily clad woman he effectively just freed, he could tell that her fellow slaves were quite jealous. Malserik was known for effectively bypassing the Emperor's decree that no slave was allowed to be freed. Unclipping his coat from his shoulders, he tossed it to Winter who caught it to the instructions of,

"Please put that on, you are coming with us," Malserik smiled as he turned to walk out of the disgusting den that was the back rooms. The smells of sex and perversion contaminated his nose for long enough that he sighed when he walked out of the room with Winter and Roman, at which point Malserik smiled and said, "your sister will be quite happy to have you back, Winter"

With that thought in mind, she could tell by the way this man carried himself he was being honest, and her sister was indeed here.

* * *

Imperious was concerned now, she didn't know what to think was going on. Though, she drifted her eyes through the party to the dancing area. She saw the slow methodical and romantic dancing that was going on, the black and white cloaks of Ruby and Weiss stood out like a sore thumb. they both had light smiles on their faces, that alone made Imperious smile. The dedication to the other these two had made them inseparable, their love seemed unending. Though they stood on equal footing, not one more dominant than the other, they balanced each other. Imperious thought where most would find their bonds a prison they had turned it into symbiosis. One could not survive without the other, throughout training, they also trained the other, helping the other, and served as a motivation for the other. if one fell the other would get them back up, they were truly inseparable, and they showed this as they danced.

Imperious found herself staring at their dancing. It was elegant as she noted the petals fluttering from under their cloaks. Their hands interlocked, looking each other in the eye as they danced. As they danced Imperious could see the aura between them as it flashed. The music entered escalated its pace thus so did they doing more elaborate movements. It was then Imperious noted Ruby had her hand bare for the world to see. She was showing no shame over her arm. Imperious figured she could give dancing a chance one of the skills she never really bothered to pick up. she knew how to be seductive, but not dance.

That's when Malserik Returned with Roman and a woman in toe, the appearance of the woman made Imperious do a double take, __Weiss is with Ruby, so who is that, a doppelganger of Weiss?__ Imperious asked herself as they came over to the table it was at that point Imperious realized the woman was about four years older than Weiss.

"Sorry about that Ceres, Roman got himself into a bit of trouble with an Imperial captain," Malserik said with a smile coming back "Also I would like you to meet Winter Schnee, Weiss's older sister." Malserik smiled as he gestured to her.

Imperious could see the familial resemblance to Weiss, "Well I can see that certainly looks like someone that could be her sister," Imperious smiled getting up seemingly to go get Weiss only to have Malserik put a hand on her should and said,

"not yet, I have tasked Roman with explaining the situation to Winter here, also this is meant to be a surprise for her," Malserik said with a smile, though little did he know that wasn't the reason she was getting up.

"Though, I wanted to get up for another reason as well, so please remove your hand from my shoulder," Imperious spoke mischievously with a smirk on her face. Malserik did as she commanded of him as he knew that smirk meant one thing, the storm is looming, "Now then Viridian since you probably won't ask me to dance with you I am going to ask you to dance with me, How does that sound?" Imperious smirked at him playfully. Malserik sighed dancing was nothing too serious, though he hadn't danced with someone since his days as a Jedi and that was because he and another padawan were made to attend a senate ball and that padawan asked him to dance with her. She was a noble person though Maslerik long forgot her name. Though, she did like teaching him formal things like how to dance and how to carry himself like a leader, if she wouldn't have been a Jedi, she could have become someone great to the Republic.

* * *

Ruby and Weiss were relaxing together in an alcove in the wall of the gothic architecture. They were smiling at the looks other Sith and imperial personnel gave them. They made it known they were indeed a couple. The looked at other Sith dancing some with Imperial personnel some with other Sith though that was rare. They figured some of the Sith were looking for one night stands while the few that did dance together seem at least like they had a mutual attraction, most likely not true love. That is when they saw it, Malserik and Imperious making their way to the floor Weiss whispered into Ruby's ear with a smile, "This should be good."

"I think so too," Ruby chuckled as they looked slightly out of place together. Though much to their surprise Malserik and Imperious seemed to dance competently, as a matter of fact, Malserik was outpacing Imperious with precision footwork. It was at that point Ruby realized Imperious may never have danced before. Her foot placement was clumsy, the look on her face was that of an embarrassed blush, while Malserik's face showed he was on the verge of chuckling, though they seemed to be having fun. Ruby and Weiss kept watching them despite their age they still looked youthful enough to be doing this slow dancing the way they were.

Roman had spent the time briefing the weakened Winter, whose aura had been stunted over the past few year due to the shock collar. due to this stunted aura, her Semblance was useless. Her body scared and abused by various owners, this definitely wasn't the first time she had been purchased, but it would be the last. Though, she gained hope when she heard that Weiss had not suffered her fate of being spat out of the vortex in a slaver ship. She was so happy to hear she had made a life for herself here and that she was more benevolent than most Sith, and the fact Ruby and the other knights had made it to Hiskal, and due to Roman recognizing her she was going to get out of the hell that was the Sith slavery system thanks to Malserik.

"So where is Weiss, Roman?" Winter asked her voice meek and somber, it would take time for her to heal from the damage inflicted by the shock collar. She kept her eyes low, as she was now among an entire room of people like Leers and her prior masters. So she was quite nervous. Though Roman was quick to reply with,

"The hell if I know, probably with Ruby doing Monty knows what, they are here, though, and they are Sith," Roman said cursing for emphasis as he slouched in the seat as Winter held Malserik's coat clasped to keep the cold off of her frail body.

"So how powerful is my little sister?" Winter asked out of the blue, quite curious as to what her sister was capable of. though, she sighed internally to hear her and Ruby were still together.

"You didn't hear Malserik's lil' screw you to all the Sith in the room?" Roman asked, confused. if it was one thing Malserik could be very inspiring with his speeches, or just down right intimidating, though he didn't scare him as much as Imperious did at times. Something was just off putting Roman with her, though unlike his boss she could take a joke and enjoy it. "They are both very powerful, Weiss is as Powerful as Red, though Red may be more powerful, I have no idea, I don't ever want to find out," Roman said much to Winter's delight. As her eyes caught two cloaked individuals sitting in an alcove in a wall off of the dance floor, white and blue next to red and black. It was then she saw their faces, they were her sister and her lover. Seeing this made her smile, she was as home as she was going to get.

* * *

After what was about thirty minutes, Imperious and Malserik were tired of the awkward act that was dancing, and as Ruby recognized it was Imperious who was the one without dancing skills. Malserik wasn't much better, but he seemed less clumsy. They saw Ruby and Weiss chuckling out of the side of their vision as they danced. It seems them dancing was enough of a show as it stood.

"You two enjoy the show?" Imperious pseudo growled at the two lovebirds of Hiskal, As they chuckled a bit more. Her face was red with a blush that shined through her almost paper colored skin. Malserik, however, was bright with a light smile as he replied with,

"I think they found your couple dancing skills a bit lacking," Viridian smiled at Imperious finally getting to tease the playful Sith back, "Though, your skills were just as good as mine."

"That reminds me. Where the hell did you learn to dance that's not a skill a Jedi normally has!?" Imperious asked in a faux curious anger of her partner. Who merely chuckled at the question as he crafted the reply of,

"I was good friends with a Padawan that came voluntarily from a noble family," Malserik explained with a slight smile, "She and I were good friends, though I think she may have wanted to be more than that."

"Oh really?!" Imperious smirked maliciously, her eyes narrowing she was giving Malserik the look of death now.

"Did I say the feelings between her and I were mutual, no I felt no similar attraction," Malserik spoke calmly and efficiently. He knew she would regret killing him over a trivial matter of the past, though he was being completely honest with Imperious. Ruby could feel the honesty flowing in his voice he was a man of no fear right now, nor anger, he was calm and at peace. Imperious and Weiss felt this too, Malserik was showing his honesty, "Ceres I would never go back to the Jedi, let alone for that whelp, am I clear."

"Why did you go all Jedi there?" Ceres asked, calmly continuing with, " and thank you, Viridian, I trust you."

"This to me was not a topic worth my anger, and fury, no, tact and diplomacy can make a joyful relationship, Correct Weiss?" Malserik spoke looking down and to the side at Weiss.

"Correct," Weiss smiled with a faint blush, as she averted her eyes as Malserik looked back over to his former apprentice with a smile.

"While I was her mentor in the arts of being a Sith. She mentored me on how to be a good partner," Weiss blushed profusely with what Viridian said as Ruby looked at her with a gaze eyes that said 'look at you, Weiss being a good person.'

"So that's why you seemed so calm and less awkward than I thought you would, Viridian," Ceres Smiled though she said, "I applaud you for doing that, but how long have you been planning for it,"

"It was a crash course I gave him last night," Weiss explained taking up a brash and annoyed tone, "I would call him a dolt for doing that, but sadly that title is reserved for my dolt," Weiss smiled as she put her arm around Ruby. With this thought in mind, the two red-clad women started to belt with laughter, though Ruby did hug Weiss after her fit of laughter died down. Malserik smirked figuring he did well to earn that harsh statement from Weiss.

"If you two are done, we should collect Roman and be on our way. As Weiss has another difficult task ahead of her though it should be a joyful one," Malserik smiled as he pinged Roman telling him to bring their most recently found friend to their shuttle. Weiss and Ruby both were curious about what Malserik meant, as the four of them walked out Ruby slipped her glove back on, going to their shuttle in the dark night that was punctuated by cracks of lightning from the force storm above.

Arriving at the shuttle they found that Roman was already prepping for take off though Ruby and Weiss went wide eyed at who they saw there with him. Reacting, they both screamed her name,

"Winter!"

* * *

Winter found herself with the two young women embracing her, They held her tight enough that her breathing was less than optimal. "Ple-ase-Let go," She spoke squirming in their grasps of joy. They let go and Winter saw how much they had changed. Needless to say, she was impressed by how they managed to become members of Sith. On the shuttle ride back to Hiskal, Winter was impressed with both Ruby and Weiss's growth. Though, she didn't care for their pallor, the darkening around their eyes, and hair coloration. As the coloration of the tips had crawled up their hair, stopping a fourth of the way up and seemed more vibrant than usual. Though one change that actually worked well in her mind was Ruby's eyes they seemed to work well with her new figure. Ruby made a point to show winter her Saber's along with Weiss who showed her sister hers. For the rest of the trip, Ruby and Weiss briefed her on the what had been going on in their lives. Winter was shocked, to say the least at a few details, especially the killing part. She then informed them of her time as a slave, some of the acts committed upon her made Weiss gag and Ruby's eyes go wide with shock.

Though it was at this point Weiss informed Winter she was an heiress again, though instead of being the heiress to a multi-million lien corporation, she was the heiress to Hiskal's governorship. this fact did make Winter happy as her sister was always destined to great things.

When they landed back at Hiskal, Malserik and Ceres Relieved those left in charge for their absence. Whilst doing this Imperious discussed with Malserik the Idea of additions to Hiskal to move all of her works from her position on the Dark Council to Hiskal. She knew this Idea would be easy to convince Malserik of as the Sphere had so many holocrons and other valuable artifacts.

Whilst that was going on, Winter met up with Neo, Pyrrha, and Nora, the latter of whom were excited to see her. They got her adjusted, to life in Hiskal over the next few weeks.

* * *

A few Months after the celebration of the sacking of Coruscant, Winter was deemed too weak to be trained as a Sith, this news disappointed both her and her sister but it was due to her found to be due to her severely stunted aura, which seemed to stunt her connection to the force as well. Though it did not stop Weiss from trying to help her sister learn the ways force.

Despite how much she tried she couldn't even pick up a small stone, she could rattle it but not lift it. Malserik intervened after letting this continue for about a week before informing Weiss that the damage to her willpower from the shock collar could be hindering her use of the force and that she was to stop trying to train her. Malserik wished that wasn't the case It was at this point Malserik told Weiss as well that Roman and Neo were in a similar state, something had stunted their use in the force as well. It was there for them, but their ties to it were too weak for them to use it like a Sith or a Jedi. Though Malserik theorized with enough time, the damage could be healed or corrected.

At this time, Malserik revealed he had other plans for Winter, she was to him a 'normal' human. So like the other two 'normal,' Remnants, she was to undergo specialized training. specifically in combating force users. If she could recover her mental fortitude she could be trained as an assassin to force users like the ones used in Revan's Sith Empire. Such a person would be an invaluable tool to their order. Her muted abilities in the force could be of great use in repelling mental invasion. She was placed under Dornettz and Balikor for training. Over a few months, they had her training with martial arts as her body recovered. Malserik had modified Mandalorian armor made for her. she was sparring with Roman, Neo, Dornettz, and Balikor, though as her training advanced she was pitted up against Ruby and Weiss, who together were insurmountable, but one on one she could handle Ruby or her Sister in hand to hand, though it was close. Malserik and Ruby collaborated on making a weapon for her they settled on a collapsible electrified baton, made of course of Phrik Alloys, with a cortosis plating if needed.

While all the other Remnants and staff focused on training Winter to be a weapon against force users. Pyrrha and Nora focused on their own personal training. Pyrrha focused herself inwards, training her mind for Sith combat rituals. She found herself liking the dark arts of Sith rituals and alchemy, she had learned the basics of the dark arts in the tombs. Though she was not by far a master in them, she had yet to create a Sith spawn or her own artifact to live through history. Something that she looked forward to doing. Where most Sith recorded what they did into a Holocron, Pyrrha did so into a tome, a book that she kept on her belt, she wrote it in Latin letters, so only those from Remnant or those who bothered to learn the language would know how to read it. According to Ruby and Weiss, Pyrrha had been living up to her title of Tomb Witch.

Nora however, was working on her technique for enhancing her strength using her self-inflicted force lightning. Over time her body grew used to the punishment the lightning and her semblance could put out. Broken bones became inconsequential to Nora, as the dark side pinned her back together, and with each breakage, her body adjusted increasing her bone density and thickness. Another side effect was the muscle growth that it caused, increasing her inherent strength. The last side effect was the black lightning marks being burned onto her skin, they didn't hurt, but they did grow whenever she used her ability for prolonged periods of time. Starting at her extremities, like her toes and fingers, working there way up. Despite the changes, Nora kept training, putting her body through hell so that she could become stronger than any Jedi could hope to be, so she could get vengeance on them for turning Lie Ren against her.

* * *

Over the course of the next year or so, the four Knights of Hiskal knew boredom, their patience was wearing thin as the plan's subtlest details were figured out. While at points it seemed like it was on hiatus as Malserik and Imperious going out on dates like a pseudo-normal couple would. Not that they weren't happy for them, just the lack of attack and missions had them on edge. Though, as Imperious moved into Waldstahl fully, Ruby and Weiss noted that Imperious and Malserik were sparring together along with doing training drills together. The green and blue sabers of the two Sith stood out against the reds ones of Malserik's training droids. They had devised their techniques after Ruby and Weiss's technique. They quickly learned how to use their style to supplement the others style, Malserik was on the front whilst Imperious supported. Malserik took up a flashy dueling style for his form two, though he kept it as simple as he could, no unnecessary spin flourishes. Imperious gave support by throwing her saber or with torrents of force lightning. Imperious was a quick and fighter while Malserik was more upfront and direct. They were fighting more like Huntsmen and Huntress from Remnant than Sith at points.

Aside from their training together Viridian and Ceres liked to dance in the main hall of Waldstahl. they practiced together if nothing else was going on. The Knights of Hiskal would sometimes join them if they had the time. The Staff of Hiskal was very supporting of Malserik and Imperious. Though, they were afraid at first, wondering if Imperious was like "Most Sith." Though, they were happy to know she was much more tolerant than Malserik. Many times she had a laugh or two with the staff, though they quickly found out what her and the members of the Visorium Order were capable of, and on that day Waldstahl burned and trust was destroyed.

* * *

 ** **A/N: Well that was Chapter 29, It's the wrap up for this party and sets the stage with a time skip. Winter is back and the next chapter will be a catch up with the other characters in the year of boredom time skip, then comes in the rewritten Chapter 7 content, some of my favorite stuff I wrote for the original story. As for this chapter, I didn't feel like much needed to be changed, so that is that.****

 ** **Review Responses:****

 ** **Dusk Clark: Grey Jedi aren't a true faction to my knowledge, (if I am wrong on that let me know,) but Grey Jedi characters will appear, as a matter of fact, they have been seen and introduced, but they haven't had their time yet. I write this story in shades of gray, not black and white.****

 ** **WirelessGrapes: I am glad you enjoy the story!****

 ** **hornofdesolation: Firstly, you had me dying with that as that is true, you funny. Secondly, I understand that the outside influence wasn't necessarily needed, but when I was writing in those new details, I came up with a major future plot point that will play into that a bit.****

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright, everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	30. Chapter 30: The Oncoming Storm

**Good day all, I am surviving college so far, My creative writing course as started, and I suspect after time it may eat into my writing time for this. Aside from that, here is Chapter 30: The Oncoming Storm!**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: The Oncoming Storm**

* * *

In the past few months Jaune had commandeered transportation with teams CVFY, SSSN, and CRDL in their cargo ship the Rusty Rabbit. Sadly they couldn't take Jaune to Tython immediately, as they had some tasks that still required their attention, So instead, they offered him a place on the ship till they could for nothing. Jaune graciously accepted though he did push to get back as soon as possible, though, there was a part of Jaune that didn't want to head back after what had happened on the Pride of Alderaan, and that part of his mind beat out his urgency to return over time the time of their cargo run. So he ended up dragging his feet, not wanting to face the council, instead, he decided to help out his friends who were still quite surprised he wasn't dead. The feeling was magnified when the public of the Republic was seemingly turning against the Jedi.

Talking to the crew he had joined, Jaune better understood the situation found out they had no weapons coming through the vortex that sent the entirety of Amity through. Though if one thing he heard from the crew concerned him, it was how Coco and the crew seemingly respected Ruby and the 'Black Knights of Prydwen,' They wondered where they ended up in the galaxy. Jaune knew where they were and the young Jedi felt it wasn't appropriate to tell his friends from Remnant the horror he just experienced on the Pride of Alderaan along with PRWN's location. He wanted to believe that was all just a horrible dream, but he knew it wasn't.

Also, he found how scattered across the galaxy the Remnants were. Velvet and Coco came out on Nar Shaddaa. Were they found work on a freighter, it was well-paid smuggling, so they had amassed enough to buy their own ship which the couple named the Rusty Rabbit in honor of Velvet. SSSN was found working with Czerka on Telos for the restoration effort. it was then Jaune was informed of how they found, each other, the local scroll locator feature all huntsmen and huntresses are required to have installed. They had set them to locate and notify when a new scroll entered its range. Sadly for Jaune, his scroll was destroyed coming through the vortex. After that, CRDL was the next to be found, they were grateful to get out of the hell hole they got themselves in on Nal Hutta, also the diversity of the galaxy helped cure a bit of CRDL's anti-Faunus views, though they did have a newly formed case of xenophobia. Sage and Yutanashi where found on a trade run to the edge of Sith space on a blockade run to Balmorra. Their feelings of the empire was that of neutrality, as they did business with them before and they didn't go out of their way to offend them.

* * *

Considering Jaune's state, he was quite a welcome addition to the crew. He told them how he was a Jedi and agreed to travel with them till he felt like he could go back. So for a time, he worked with the crew of the Rusty Rabbit. After about eight months, he and the crew of the Rabbit found themselves delivering supplies to Tython, and Jaune decided it was time to stop hiding from what he encountered aboard the Pride of Alderaan. Jaune's return to Tython was a warm one. His first step after returning, was to return was former master, she had to know. Walking down the elegant halls of the Jedi Temple, he found her quarters, knocking on the door gently. The young knight open door to a warm embrace,

"By the force, I am glad you made it back safely," Artorika smiled, as she released the grip on her friend whom she thought was dead. "Where were you?" Artorika inquired as Jaune had returned on a smuggler's ship.

"I had to cope with something," Jaune admitted, his voice quivering as he spoke, he didn't want to tell her, but he had no option,"you know those four friends I told you about?" Jaune asks solemnly walking to her quarters, taking a seat in one of the few chairs in the room.

"you found them?" Artorika asked taking a seat across from Jaune, she could feel something was tearing at the young Jedi. She could tell that this is what he was coping with, she couldn't hold it against him, as something about his friends disturbed him greatly.

"Yes, I found them," Jaune sighed, "They are Sith, they destroyed The Pride of Alderaan, they came for Nora, they killed most, if not all of the crew, sparing me, for what reason I don't know, they seem to have no problem killing and by Monty, Ruby, and Weiss, I had no Idea they could be so cruel, Weiss especially, they even tempted me with going to the Darkside."

"You didn't, so I'm proud of that," Artorika smiled pleasantly, she knew how rough it must have been for him to encounter his friends in such a manner. She knew how he felt, originally when Malserik left she wanted to follow him, to help him, to be his partner.

"that's not the worst of it," Jaune said hanging his head in shame, "the one who trained Weiss, was Malserik." this made Artorika's jaw drop, she was shocked, legitimately shocked at what she just heard. "and he most likely trained Ruby as well."

"No she was trained by someone else I have a feeling, I had gotten a report that one of Malserik apprentices was transferred to Darth Imperious,"Artorika explained calmly she hoped it wasn't true, Imperious is looking like she is becoming a massive threat to the Jedi. "If that is the case Ruby may be her apprentice, and she is most likely very powerful."

"She read my mind using some technique," Jaune explained his mind tearing apart as he remembered the pain. "I never felt anything so painful"

"She was friendly at first, wasn't she?" Artorika asked calmly, she hoped that was the case. She wanted to make sure there was still good in her heart. Even those with only darkness in their hearts could be redeemed.

"Yes, Why?" the young knight asked, quite curious of what his master was thinking.

"She may never be a Jedi, but she could still redeem herself in the end." Artorika said calmly resting her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "you know I personally believe anyone can redeem themselves, no matter the sin." Artorika explained to the young Jedi.

"I hope she does," Jaune mumbled as another very disturbing event was about to transpire in the hanger bay, were the twelve other remnants that bought Jaune home were gathered. They were unloading their cargo for the Jedi order that they had to haul from across the galaxy. In the meantime, Jaune had to go prepare to give a report to the council.

* * *

In the hangers of the Jedi Temple, as the Rusty Rabbit had finished unloading all of their supplies, they were being stalked by a white cloaked Jedi. She sensed these Remnants when they landed and she knew these former huntsmen and huntresses in training were exactly what the Jedi needed. She was running a test on a new variation of her mind rewriting ability. She had used her force abilities to mentally subdued all of the Remnants in the room. Looking around she saw the closest remnant to her was a young man with blue hair.

Walking up, she put her hand on the blue hair person's head and rewrote his mind. she felt a burn in her eyes as she did this task. She knew they were shifting color to yellow most likely, this ability was one that did that due to its roots in the Darkside. Even though she was doing it for the greater good of the galaxy, the Darkside didn't see it that way, though the shift was always temporary.

Despite this, she continued down the line of those she had subdued. With each person, a smile grew on her face. By the time when she reached the last she found herself wanting to test this ability to the limits. She wanted to test it on those who knew and used the force actively. Within twenty-five minutes she had all twelve of their minds rewritten to think they are Jedi. Little did she know that she know what Jaune knew, they didn't want to be part of the Jedi. As he had felt their strength in the force. He asked if they would be interested in joining the order, they all politely declined, wishing to remain neutral in the conflict and find their way back home. Now, they wanted nothing more but to become Jedi, Jedi that were extremely loyal to Surik, Just like her current padawan, Karlile.

* * *

In the depths of the Unknown Regions, Ozpin had returned to Star Forge. he was exhausted from the long journey. This station was truly in the middle of nowhere in space. Landing in a hanger he walked off of his ship and back onto the Starforge, he loathed the information he had discovered about Summer, he hated how it was, in fact, true. Summer had manipulated them into thinking Ruby was Taiyang's child. She had betrayed all of their trust. He was glad to be off of that ship.

He had traveled to many worlds in the past months, trying to locate his students or any of the lost Remnants for that matter. He was burned out and tired after not finding a single soul from Remnant. Though he knew Revan would be more than happy to have him back, more or less. Walking along, a weird astromech droid crossed his path, beeping at him. He paid it no mind and continued into the next hanger.

Entering the hanger, the headmaster spotted a horde of droids being sliced through by a whirlwind crimson and purple energy, accented by the hum and electronic noises of lightsabers. suddenly the droids halted and turned to face the trench coat clad Ozpin. Removing the saber hilt from the head of his cane, he stood ready for battle, though the droids stopped before anything drastic happened. as the droids parted to reveal the black-clad woman he recognized by her golden hair.

"Miss, Xiao Long," Ozpin said happily as he lowered his dark glasses, happy to see Taiyang's daughter once again, he knew she was alive be the existence of Jaune Blake and Lie Ren, all students he thought lost and dead. Though he noted her appearance was darker, as she wore black robes that looked out of character for her personality.

"By Monty, Ozpin?!" Yang asked happily as she bolted up and hugged the man. She was happy to see another person she knew on Remnant and he was happy to see her, "What are you doing here?" Yang asked as she didn't know about Ozpin's prior dealings with Revan.

"I was looking for some of the lost Remnants, so far I have only located four, and that would be you and the two that have become Jedi, Mister Ren, Miss Belladonna, and Ruby's Mother," Ozpin admitted as Yang groaned at the mere mention of Summer or Surik, as she was known.

"I take it you know her secret then?" Yang asked, to which Ozpin nodded, She had betrayed all that they thought they knew about her, she was no longer the super mom they remembered, but a cruel manipulative woman that did anything to get her way. With the Droids shut down, Yang led Ozpin back to her quarters to catch up.

Ozpin learned, that Yang felt horrible about not being able to find her sister, but Revan had told her he had a 'good friend watching over her.' who this friend was unknown to Yang or Ozpin. She then told Ozpin about the vision's in her dreams, She explained the gilded eyed Sith, and how the vision's seemed to be morphing, as once she was combating the Sith. Now in her vision's she was fighting alongside her and other various Sith, the only thing she could use to tell them apart were their blades, a bent hilt with a blue blade with an icy core, a magma orange blade that sparked a crackled with instability, a pink blade with a magenta core that warbled with a compress blade, and the weapon of the gilded eyed Sith herself, a blood red crossguarded blade with a rose core.

Then Yang told Ozpin of Revan's training, and how she was mastering the force's light and dark sides. Ozpin could tell she was dedicated to learning from Revan, as she had a purpose, a goal in mind, finding Ruby.

Then Ozpin explained what had occurred on Remnant after her supposed demise, Yang had known all about Ruby's changes, but now she had context. Ruby had abandoned the scythe in favor of the sword after her aura merge. This was something that shocked the blonde force user, as she learned the tragedy of what happened to team PRWN. The media, Weiss leaving her family, the suspension of PRWN from the Vytal festival, and the lost fours funeral. She gained another perspective on the issue of what had occurred on Remnant.

Then she learned about what happened after the Vytal attack. Remnant was falling apart when Ozpin left to find his students, he could only predict how far the world had fallen since his departure. All he could say to describe it was,

"War and Chaos."

* * *

Returning to Tython, Jaune found himself in front of the council, his heart was pounding, though that was when he saw something quite interesting, sitting in the chair of Gulliman was Lie Ren, who after the death of his master and capture of his killer, had ascended to the Council as the primary ambassador from the Jedi to the Republic, and he had most o his time taken up trying to prevent the senate from jumping down the Jedi's throat. He was present, in holographic form, he looked happy to see his friend again, but he could also tell by the way Jaune was standing, he was quite troubled. The only master that wasn't present was Surik, who 'had something to tend to.'

"So, Knight Arc?" asked one of the more antagonistic hardline masters, "would you care to explain why you decided to wait almost a year to report back to Tython, not even trying to contact us?" The master inquired as Jaune wanted to collapse under the gaze of all of the masters in front of him.

"What occurred on the Pride of Alderaan, was especially traumatic for Jaune," Artorika spoke calmly, she looked more like a concerned parent than a Jedi Master, "he is still young as a Jedi, and he felt and saw a lot of death on that ship." Artorika explained, though before Master Ruus's replacement could speak, "nothing in our training could prepare him for what occurred on that ship."

"I will concur with Master Artorika, no single Jedi is prepared for three Sith to board their ship disguised as smugglers." Satele explained in agreement, though she followed it up with a question, "though, normally, the Sith do not spare Jedi from death, so why did they spare you?"

"They were Remnants, and they couldn't bring themselves to kill me," Jaune admitted, much to the council's dismay. He didn't plan on telling the council their names, though they seemingly didn't care about their names as the same verbose master asked,

"Did they say who trained them?" He inquired rather loudly, drowning out anyone else who wished to speak. He had a hunch and felt it necessary to act upon it. Jaune was confused and startled by the question, though he answered it with the information he learned.

"One was trained by Viridian Malserik, the other Darth Imperious," Jaune replied as the council's eyes went wide. It was at that point one of the Master's asked,

"Do we still have that stockpile of Sith equipment," one master identified as Jedi healer Anderon Alik-zander his voice was low and serious, all in the room who were alive at the time knew why he was asking this, he wanted to strike. He wanted vengeance, he wanted vengeance against the man who took his master from him, and a gave him his scar.

"We do," Satele replied, she could already know what he was thinking. At which point Jaune and Artorika dismissed themselves. Artorika wanted nothing to do with the Malserik contingency. She knew what it entailed. The Jedi would disguise themselves take a contingent of Republic troopers and kill Malserik and raid his fortress in Hiskal. "Along with that, we have also received transmission from our contacts in Hiskal," Satele explained, she knew how Artorika felt about this course of action, but the Jedi had to retaliate on this matter, and extract their agents

* * *

A few months later, many in the order had not seen Surik for a time, though the council seemingly didn't care as they prepared for the Malserik contingency. The council had deemed it was time for them to strike. Though there was a secondary objective, to recover some spies that had infiltrated Waldstahl as one sent out a message to the Jedi, that they couldn't risk sending all the data they had acquired via transmission, they had to be extracted. Along with that, apparently, they said something that made the council silence themselves, enough to make Satele herself partake in this operation. Blake found herself on the clandestine mission to Sith space. She was to recover spies from the seat of the Sith Empire. Riding in a cramped, captured Sith Fury, she relaxed preparing for a hellish battle ahead. She had been training to get herself to the peak of her abilities for the past months, so she felt ready for this.

She was not to show her face at all during the operation, she had a half face mask she had fashioned to look like a White Fang mask. Satele Shan herself was leading this operation along with Master Anderon Alik-zander and a few other un-noteworthy Jedi, Blake had never met. they had the captured Sith Fury, along with a few Imperial Assault Shuttles, all packed the brim with troops and Jedi, all disguised to look like Sith. Their spies were in the city of Hiskal, in a Sith Fortress that dominated the city.

In her heart, she was torn, abandoned by a Yang who ran, Distanced by Jaune, who went missing and Lie Ren, who had many more important things to deal with the Republic. Her friends were gone, the few she could trust were distant. The only people she could trust fully now being Surik and Satele. They seemed to be the most logical in the order, readying the Jedi for the inevitable war. Though, the cat faunus felt sadness as she wanted her friends from RWBY back and from what Jaune told her she may be able to get them back. He didn't tell her much of what had happened on the Pride of Alderaan, as he was too anxious to speak on the matter, as the Jedi came to learn quite quickly.

Though, Satele who was on the same ship as Blake was nervous about the news she got from her agents. they told her in their message, "A Visorium Lives." This term was one Satele dreaded. as if a member of the Visorium clans lived, so did the order. The implications of an order of Visoriums was horrifying to the Grand Master of the Jedi.

They were an order of Darkside users that watch from the shadows and alter the galaxy in subtle ways. Gifted with abilities that Jedi and Sith could only dream of, they were few yet powerful. This fact alone made a chill run up Satele's back. She remembered in the archive, she saw records of when the Jedi and Sith united in the Great Hyperspace War to fight the Visorium order. _ _If they have returned they are a threat that could supersede the Empire__ _,_ Satele cringed at the thought, as she looked out the cockpit of the Fury. That was the reason for such a massive deception on the part of the part of the Republic's part, If they had returned they had to eliminate them quickly, before they could sink their fangs into the Empire and Republic, as the last time they came up, they had manipulated the galaxy to go to war.

 _By the force, just on Visorium can't stand against all of us._ Satele thought, though that did not help her nerves as she watched hyperspace, the Republic was not too crazy about this operation, but the chancellor allowed it. giving them enough troops kitted out in Sith equipment to fill the role of Sacking Waldstahl and liberating all of the Artifacts Malserik had collected. Though Satele had also made a promise to Artorika who had talked to her before she left. She was to spare Malserik if he redeemed himself or surrendered. it was official, Waldstahl will burn.

* * *

 ** **AN: Ah, well that is a thing, this chapter was a pain to write as I couldn't think of what to add, but I decided to explain the situation a bit more to set up what happens in the next chapters. With Jaune's return to the order, and his report, the council has decided to retaliate against Malserik, along with that, I wanted to get some backstory about the Visoriums in as well. Along with explaining what had occurred in the gap for the Jedi, Yang, and Ozpin. By far, Jaune had the most interesting time in that regard. Also 10 more chapters before new stuff! Speaking of next chapter I think this chapter says enough of where we are going!****

 ** **Review Responses****

 ** **JimmyHall24: It was stated that she emerged out of the Vortex into a slaver ship, and that is a good plot point for later, thank you for the Idea, though I don't think it will be Ruby or Weiss to enact this.****

 ** **hornofdesolation: Well I hope you enjoy it, I don't really intend to focus on everyone, as things will come into play later.****

 ** **Guest: I see what you mean with Roman, but that is how I see Roman, I think he would talk a lot like that, answering multiple questions at once.****

 ** **Honorboundfate: This is what the last sentence was about, it made more sense in the original Chapter 6, but I think it works as crappy direct foreshadowing.****

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	31. Chapter 31: Waldstahl Burns

**A/N: Oh yes, here we go, Chapter 31, The start of the original Chapter 7's material, and home to one of my favorite parts in the story! So without further waiting, Chapter 31: Waldstahl Burns!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Waldstahl Burns**

* * *

On the day that ended the year of boredom, Malserik identified an unauthorized long range off world transmission. He was shocked at where data that was being fed to, someone was using his long communication equipment for espionage. Slamming his gloved hand on the console he walked off, seething. He was angry, s very much so, that the staff of Waldstahl could feel his rage. It was hard to not feel when he walked past as he went to his office. He had logs of who had been into the comm rooms for this reason. He walked into his office, sitting down roughly at his desk. He pulled up the logs and got to work seeing who entered the comm room. He sighed in relief when the number was small and he narrowed that down to two people Ruling out Balikor and Dornettz due to their loyalties to him and his cause. He had a smirk, normally Sith protocol would not allow either of these people to live, but Malserik was a just man and wanted to clear anyone not involved. He had both people brought to his office. Though, as they were being escorted there, Imperious poked her head in, asking why Malserik was so angry, due to her feeling his rage when she was halfway across Waldstahl. He explained the situation to her, that is when she got an Idea of how to clear the name of the one who was not involved.

"Ruby could really help you here Malserik, Why not have her conduct the interrogation," Imperious suggested with a wicked smirk figuring her ability would be more than perfect for the job at hand.

"That is not a bad idea, Why don't you get her down here," Malserik smiled at Imperious who smirked back as she walked out to go find Ruby.

* * *

The now eighteen-year-old Ruby and twenty-year-old Weiss were in their quarters, relaxing they were both recovering from an intense sparing session with Pyrrha and Nora, the former was off working on some Sith alchemic ritual, while the latter was snoring away in her room. It was dark outside and they had moved the couch, to watch the force storm outside as it was very active today for some reason. They were cuddled together Ruby's right bare metal hand intertwined with Weiss's left. Weiss hadn't changed much in the time, though Ruby had grown her hair out into a low ponytail, under Imperious's recommendation, and she did like it.

Normally on Remnant, thunder snow would be a rare occurrence, it was common in Hiskal in Drommund Kaas. Though, it was still a beautiful to them especially tonight. Ruby and Weiss were wearing light relaxation clothing, meant to be comfortable, and loose. Just as they looked at each other, they heard a ping at the door to their home as it opened. Looking back they saw Darth Imperious, whose face bore a concerned look rather than its normal playful look.

"Sorry to interrupt you two lovebirds, but Ruby, we need you in Malserik's study right now, we need your help." The voice of Imperious spoke into her room. Though, she quickly left to go back to Malserik as Ruby stood up with a groan as she frowned as she had to leave Weiss. Grabbing Rose De Sang, and clicking her together so she could carry her with one hand as Ruby did not have her harness on her leisure outfit at the moment. She walked out as Weiss got up and followed, Mitternacht in hand and her belt on her hips. Curious as to what was going on at this point in the night? Walking down the hall with Ruby, she planned to give Imperious and Malserik hell for interrupting them if this was something trivial.

It turned out it was far from trivial, they had two members of the staff suspected of espionage and treason. Ruby was needed to determine who the traitor was. Weiss was very uncomfortable with them using Ruby as a tool like this to determine the spy but it was a necessity, just in case their security had been compromised to the Republic, which from the sounds of things, It had been.

"So, Ruby, Now that you are here, can you interrogate them?" Malserik asked slightly guilty as Ruby looked at them like she didn't want to do this. That was until Imperious spoke.

"Ruby I know you don't want to use your ability for a purpose like this but it is necessary. The normal Sith thing to do would be to execute them both, and I am very willing to do that!" Imperious spoke boldly, appealing to the remaining sense of justice Ruby still had in her system. This made Ruby, tense as Imperious made her threat. She could feel the fear in the two staff member's minds. One a well-dressed Togruta from the kitchen, the other a Twi'lek from maintenance.

To push Ruby further, Imperious ignited both Castle and Jackal next to the suspect's necks. Ruby stepped forward, as she frowned. Her arm extended, she grabbed the first suspect's head with her right hand. Reading his mind and memories, she saw a Twi'lek male that was just trying to survive in the empire, she felt his pain and sympathized with him.

Returning to reality Ruby said, "This Twi'lek is innocent," Releasing her hand Ruby continued with, "let me check the Togruta as well, I won't let you kill someone who could be innocent."

"Thorough, I like it, go right ahead Ruby," Malserik smiled as Ruby put her hand on the Togruta's head, curiously just as Ruby thought this individual had nothing to do with the espionage either. Releasing the grip on his mind, she spoke, "We have the wrong people."

"That's impossible, the only other person to enter that room at that time was Balikor," Malserik said as he trusted Balikor implicitly, though Imperious, Ruby, and Weiss looked at Malserik like he was insane for not bringing in Balikor as well. That is when they heard and felt a loud explosion rack the fortress followed by multiple subsequent smaller explosions caused by heavy blasters. Then they heard blaster fire echoing through the hall. Malserik felt his gut tense up as his most trusted soldier was a spy. This was the first time the three saw Malserik's eye go yellow, his face contorted by anger.

* * *

Just minutes before, Blake and Satele descended upon the mountain City of Hiskal. They had passed through a layer of Storm clouds to get there, but they could tell the mountain top fortress's defense were disabled. This let them know that their allies had done their jobs. Then came the signal, a detonation in the fortress's structure.

This signaled the green light on the operation. With that signal, the captured fury swooped down, the blasters firing to strafe the structure as the dropships moved in to land in the snowy courtyard. Blake could feel the shock in the fortress below, as the fury swooped the structure as the came back around to land. She saw the small army the Jedi had amassed for this operation disembarking from their ships. They had breached the doors by the time Blake and Satele touched down in the fury with the rest of the troops and Jedi were invading the fortress, and the pillars of smoke and flame had already permeated the air.

To Blake the mountaintop air was thin dry and cold, she figured either the building was pressurized or Malserik and his people have adjusted to the environment, either way, she was glad she had her feline ears covered by her hood. Once on the ground Satele the designated second in command of the operation Anderon Alik-zander, who darted down the ramp with her, darted into the building clad their usual clothing. Blake's role was to serve as a rear guard and stay close to the main entrance of the structure and eliminate any Sith that strayed too close to the ship.

She had been briefed on the Knights of Hiskal, Malserik, and Imperious if any of those three scared her it was the knights as she heard all four of them were Remnants, this fact was a might bit disturbing because she couldn't help but think who they could be, and if they were who she thought they were, she was scared to see what they had become.

Blake looked at the structure as she approached it, with squads of troopers on her left and right storming into the structure. She could give it credit, it was an impressive structure with a variation of Sith architecture, but it had to fall, it had to be destroyed.

* * *

Away from the battle on top of a mountain watch post a rusty droid snapped to life to the sound of blaster fire. The droid had been watching Hiskal for the past year, and blaster fire let alone of this scale and volume was very concerning to the droid as he had been assigned years ago to watch observe and protect Ruby Rose. Standing up the droid grabbed his sniper blaster and laid down in a prone position scoped in on Waldstahl's courtyard.

No one knew of his infiltration, and HK-47 intended to keep it that way. Talking to himself the droid said through his underused vocabulator,

"Aggravated, I can not expose myself yet, unless Mistress falls under threat." The droid spoke concisely as he watched the battle below unfold. He knew Ruby Rose was a capable combatant, and would not require his assistance yet, but he kept his scope aligned with a few of the meat bags below, just in case.

* * *

"You three clear the other traitors, Balikor and Dornettz is my responsibility," Malserik hissed commandingly, standing up, pulling his gloves tight to his hand as he stood, readying SturmKrieg for battle. His anger was burning like a bright star to all of the Sith in the room, Imperious, however, smirked, as when Malserik got angry like this, bodies piled high. Once out in the halls of Waldstahl, Malserik darted down the halls, igniting the rear blade of his saber. He knew figured he knew where Balikor would most likely go to get out of Waldstahl, and that was most likely be the Whispering Spectre.

Malserik saw the damage that was caused to his home. Blaster bolts of Imperial Regulars, along with their corpses across from Hiskal Guardsmen. He was thankful they seemed to be loyal to him still. Barreling through the halls, Malserik had to quickly dispatch some Imperial Regulars or so they seem to be regulars. They seemed to be fighting with more Republic style tactics than Sith. This concerned the Sith greatly as he moved forward though the decimated halls to the main hanger, where the whispering specter was. He found Hiskal Guards led by Roman there guarding the ship, With Pyrrha, who looked quite agitated that she was interrupted while preforming a ritual. Seeing this he turned around to go check the other hangers, he had fallen for a diversion based on his own assumptions.

* * *

Waldstahl was in flames, a sight that could be seen from the city. Civilians looking up in horror, they all had one thought in mind, __may the force be with Malserik and Waldstahl.__ _In the streets, people gathered in silence as they looked up at the mountain top fortress. The people saw the Imperial dropships descend upon the fortress. The wisps of orange flames flaring up into the dark night sky. The thing that worried the people the most was how the fortress wasn't retaliating with its turbolaser cannons._

* * *

Ruby and Weiss had split up to cover more ground. Despite their bond, they could still operate independently. Weiss was heading to the lab and archive area, as per Imperious's orders. Ruby was told to go to the courtyard at the rear of Waldstahl, as Imperious suspected a few ships could have landed there.

Dashing to the location using her speed semblance and force acceleration, Weiss found her way to the archive, she found it surrounded by the traitorous Imperial Regulars. Leaping forth, her blade formed a blue blur, arcing though a large squad of troopers. She smirked as she saw a heavy blaster being set up. Bolting forth she swiftly cut them down and blasted some troops past them with lighting. They stood no chance against her, as she approached the door to the archive. Though another squad tried to unleash a torrent of blaster fire on her. She smirked as she turned around and held her hand behind her lightsaber blade. In mid air the bolts stopped, quickly manipulating her blade she formed glyphs around the bolts and returned them right back into the troops that fired them. Weiss chuckled that she could do that, as it was like a trick from some of the movies she watched back on Remnant.

* * *

Nora was sleeping when the raids started. Still, in what counted as pajamas for a Sith, she grabbed her lightsaber, Blodsverd, and ignited its compress pink blade. Dashing out into the hall, she saw an older what appeared to be a Jedi. He wore a black coat and bore two green sabers in hand. He was disguised to look like a Sith, but she could tell he was no such thing. Darting forth, she readied her saber for combat. The Jedi whipped around parrying her strike with a counter strike, one at her blade one at her leg. Nora's Aura tanked the strike. The Jedi looked shocked at her aura. Using that distraction, Nora lined up the blast extension system of the pike with the other arm and activated it. The scream made Nora smile as the pike went right through the Jedi's left wrist, causing the Jedi Drop the saber in that hand.

The clattering of the useless saber hitting the floor was music to Nora's ears as she proceeded to mount her foot on the Jedi's impaled arm. Using her foot to apply a downward force, Nora ripped the pike from the Jedi's arm.

The sound of flesh and bone being torn asunder ran through the air as Nora felt the warm sensation of blood coating her face. She looked at the Jedi's horrified eyes, as she retracted pike to a normal saber. Pushing the bleeding Jedi back with a force blast. Nora bolted down to grab the Jedi's saber, taking it for her own. She smiled as the wounded Jedi stood back up, his bloodied limb hanging by mere tendons.

"Well aren't you the violent one," The Jedi spoke as he came in for an attack that would be a grave error. As she blocked his strike, statically. The Jedi gasped as he saw the lighting running through her bare arms.

Nora smiled with her reply, "well now you are a sloth, Jedi," as she countered with a leg strike the Jedi could not block.

* * *

Pyrrha and Roman were defending the Whispering Specter after Malserik turned around, they found themselves under siege by a large contingent of troopers. Pyrrha had relegated herself to deflecting blaster bolts to allow Roman and his troops to move. She was deflecting bolts from all directions with her retrosaber, drawing the fire from the aggressors. Roman had managed to get off a few bolts of with lethal effect, as did his troopers. These opposing soldiers were very well trained, too well trained for Sith regulars. Though, dropping down behind them was a threat unlike any they had seen. A woman with an electrified baton. She darted though there fire, and Pyrrha joined her in the coming slaughter.

Winter, code named Lancer was ready to bash some skulls with her new baton. Dashing forth, a blaster bolt scuffing her armor, she slammed a trooper in the gut with the baton. Swiftly, Winter's armored shin hit another Trooper's head as she whipped around. Quickly jabbing the baton on the back of a traitorous soldier. This vigorous form of martial arts was originally foreign to Winter, though using it in full combat was elegant to her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an unstable Magma orange lightsaber blade that ripped through an Imperial regular's chest plate. Followed by a blast from the Tomb Witch's Scepter. Fighting in tandem Winter and Pyrrha were pushing the line for Roman's besieged Troops. More of the 'Regulars' swarmed the hanger. Though as they did a Sniper blaster went off, slamming one of the Regulars in their oddly shaped helmet.

"Miss me?" Cooed the accented voice of Neo, who was on the ceiling scaffold. Her sniper deployed on the railing as the three Remnants below took charge and the offensive. Neo covered them as they pushed. Roman commanding his troops, not like a criminal and henchmen. No, he was fighting like an officer at the front line, leading making it known, he was a fighter as well as a leader. Neo, Winter, and Pyrrha, serving as the pivot for his troops to push them back, He smirked as he fired blaster pistol in the air as he gave his order.

"Counterattack!" He yelled, giving his order. His troops left cover to push forward, vaulting and dashing, The Hiskal Guard showed their prowess as a combat force as Roman gave his next order, "Fall in on Orange and Lancer! Form up on them!" He yelled a midst the charge, blasting a 'Regular' as he did.

* * *

Outside of the hanger battle, Ruby was walking calmly toward the court yard, cutting down any disguised republic soldiers that got in her way. She had lost count of how many were felled by her blade. She had developed a technique to combat the non-force sensitive troopers. She hated how little of a challenge they were, even the Hiskal guardsman could keep her at bay in sparing with a vibrosword. She felt bad for the republics soldiers. As she knew if she spared them they would prove to be problematic, as they could accelerate Imperious's plan. A plan that required delaying the second war with the Republic as much as possible. She felt the fear in the troops as she cut them down, any time she had to kill like this she remembered something Imperious told her and that was, 'Ruby, I know killing should always be the last resort but Sith and Jedi alike will kill you if you show them mercy.' Though there was a growing part of Ruby that enjoyed this slaughter, and that part was growing bit by bit with each corpse.

She found herself smiling as she cut down the troops. They were the enemy, after all, they were the aggressors, to her the Republic and their Jedi were her new White Fang.

* * *

In the archive, Weiss dealt with a much different situation, the focus of the Jedi presence was in the Archive and Lab. They were nothing more than mere thieves, stealing data and information. Weiss had flashbacks to an attack on White Castle by the White Fang. This act just lowered her vision of the Jedi even lower than what it was. Her combat was quick, she didn't let the Jedi parry or defend themselves, they didn't deserve the honor of defending themselves. They were not presenting themselves as Jedi, and in Weiss's mind they did not deserve the treatment she would give to a noble Jedi combatant. Jedi and deception, two words that never meshed in the galactic vocabulary, but here they were dressed like Sith on Drommund Kaas.

Weiss whipped around slamming through, Slaughtering the troops and there commanding Jedi. As she cleared the room she found herself deep in the archive. Her saber ignited in hand, she saw the destruction she caused dead Jedi each a justified and quick kill, by their skill these Jedi barely knew how to duel with a lightsaber, and the braids gave away they were mostly still Padawans, this made Weiss scoff.

"The Jedi send children against me, how cute," Weiss spoke insulting the corpse of the Jedi as she continued on with he blue blade humming at her side. She felt not remorse for these thieves, as now she related the Jedi to the White Fang, they were scum that deserved no mercy.

* * *

Satele was not comfortable with how the operation was going, She felt her assault force being cut down by the Sith and the Forces loyal to Malserik. She realized what a mistake this operation was as she felt the agony of her Jedi and their troops. She felt their suffering as she escorted Dornettz and Balikor with Alik-zander and a contingent of troops through the halls till she heard a voice call her out.

"Satele Shan, well this confirms the Jedi are behind this operation," The voice taunted as a Sith descended from the ceiling, her blue blades ignited. Satele knew immediately this wasn't an ordinary Sith.

"Alik-zander, get the objectives out of here I will buy you time," Satele said as she readied her blue double saber for combat.

"Careful Satele that is the Visorium!" Balikor yelled back to his Jedi savior. This caused the blue eyed Sith to smirk wickedly, as she knew what her name meant to the Jedi, though she was nothing like her ancestors, but none the less the look on Satele's face made it all worth it for Imperious. Seeing Satele's fear, made Imperious's day.

* * *

Blake was wandering the halls of the mountain top fortress, her original goal was to keep any Sith occupied till the objectives could be secured. She couldn't bring herself to kill any of the Fortress's soldiers, then again only one or two made it to where she was. Instead, she chose to remain in the shadows, watching for Sith as she returned to the courtyard at the front of the mountain top fortress, her boots causing the snow to crunch beneath her feet. All of the assault forces ships were there, guarded by a light contingent of disguised troopers. Returning back outside, Blake was amazed by the darkness of Drommund Kaas, She looked up at the dark sky watching the bolts of lightning from the force storm above. As she zoned out watching the storm above, she heard blaster fire and the sound of a lightsaber. She watched a red double saber dart across a line of Republic troopers, with lethal affects. The Sith was like a whirlwind of red energy as she cut across the line of troopers.

Instinctively, Blake deployed her Saber, igniting its candle flame-colored blade. She brought the blade up to intercept the oncoming attack from the Sith. As the blade locked, the sabers clashed, accented by crackling and sparking. Blake saw the face of her opponent. Blake could barely recognize her and almost didn't want to believe it was her, but it was. Ruby was here, standing in front of her. At that moment Blake's fears were realized, and Surik's prediction was true, she had fallen to the Darkside. Ruby growled at the faunus Jedi as not knowing her identity as it was hidden behind her mask, a mask that reminded her of all of her pain from Remnant.

After the growl in the intensity of the saber lock, the Sith Ruby threw a punch with her right arm aiming for Blake's face. The masked Blake evaded this direct attack. Backing off, Blake took her mask and lowered her hood exposing her face and ears to the cold air and Ruby's gaze. Doing this made the woman in front of her burst out into a fit of laughter.

"Blake! I'll be damned seeing you here!" Ruby smiled though her laughter, which to Blake sounded like insane cackles more than it did laughter of joy. Blake was unnerved by Ruby's voice, as it was deeper and carried the Imperial accent, it wasn't the voice of the cute gun nut from Remnant, no, it was the voice of a cruel young woman. "I take it by your feeling right now, you are not too happy to see me." Ruby continued in her accented voice as she kept De Sang raised, pointed at Blake, the deep humming of the blade was something Blake could feel in her soul, though she wasn't afraid of her old leader.

"I am afraid Ruby, you would be correct. You have sins to atone for," Blake said calmly, raising Candlelight to Rose De Sang. "I can help you atone for them Ruby, If you come with me," the Jedi Shadow continued, attempting to appeal to Ruby but this only caused her to laugh even louder at Blake.

"I am sorry Blake, I can't," Ruby replied, though as she looked at Blake to continue, she smiled as she asked, "You could always join us?" Ruby asked of Blake with a smile, though she knew she would not turn that easily.

"Then I will have to defeat you, Ruby," Blake spoke with absolution, her voice cold with a sense of justice. Though there was a part of Blake that wanted to fight and that part was presenting itself in the subtle smirk on her face.

Ruby smiled extending her saber into a lance, deactivating the rear blade and increasing the length of the front blade to that of two meters and the quillons to a half a meter in length. The hilt fully extended, Ruby enter a Spear fighting stance. Blake bolted forward using her semblance to create her shadow clone. Ruby could sense which Blake was the real one. Bringing her saber to bare on Blake's blade to lock it on the quillon. Blake quickly adjusted as Ruby maneuvered the other end of her saber spear to slam into Blake's clone. In one fluid motion, Ruby back stepped, separating her saber into its halves and realized spear combat was not the appropriate style for this duel. Putting De Sang into its default configuration and igniting the second half of De Sang, Ruby pressed the offensive with her two cross sabers.

Blake could feel Ruby was holding back, even as she struck with speed and might. Looking at Ruby, Blake saw how much she had changed, she noted her body and figure was like that of a young woman figuring Ruby would now be eighteen. Blake thought the cloak-less Ruby in her own right was beautiful in a dark way, though the light burn scar on her face and right side of her body made her look meaner, along with her hairstyle which made her look more mature. Then she realized Ruby did get a prosthetic arm to replace her lost one, though her new, metal arm carried a dark aura with it.

After a few seconds of holding back, Ruby let loose a bit and in doing so, she had the Cat Faunus on the defensive. Blake was struggling with Ruby's speed and ferocity. Though, Blake had to win though she couldn't let Ruby defeat her here. She had to win she had to push back, even if it meant she had to kill Ruby.

* * *

Alik-zander was escorting the objectives until he felt something was off in the hall he was in. Turning around to face Balikor and Dornettz, as he did this he leaped back as a Viridian double blade lightsaber rocketed towards them, though the Jedi Healer learned quickly that he was not the target. As the saber cut the objectives legs off. Falling down to the ground screaming, the healer watched the infamous Saber return to the hand of a man he used to know.

"Malserik," The healer hissed, "Long time, no see. you still have your abomination of a lightsaber I see," Alik-zander spoke not drawing his sabers. The former Jedi in front of him held his ignited saber to the side disengaging the second blade along with closing the rotary track.

"Anderon Alik-zander. A pleasure to see you again, how is your master doing?" Malserik asked taunting the Jedi. As he walked forward towards the familiar face, Malserik used the force to disarm his former lieutenants and slam them off to the side.

"He is one with the light, unlike yourself." Anderon retorted in his heavily accented voice, "You know he regretted doing that, He acknowledged that mistake." the Jedi healer retorted, his white coat flaring as flames erupted from an electrical explosion in the wall behind him. "I wonder what your parents would think of you now." The tank of a healer continued as he approached Malserik. He was trying to interrupt Malserik's focus, but that taunt did no such thing, instead it helped the rogue Jedi focus his anger.

"This is the second time Jedi have tried to ruin my home, my family, NEVER AGAIN!" Malserik Roared as he performed his Makashi salute, darting forth at the Jedi who deployed a cyan bladed saber from his sleeve. Malserik knew how Anderon fought, he knew this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

* * *

Nora had killed that Jedi she had made into a 'sloth' as a contingent of Troops and a few more Jedi came her way. Her fist flew forward enhanced by her semblance enhanced with her force lightning, her punch imploded the trooper's helmet along with the skull inside in one visceral motion. Ripping back, she leered at the rest of the troops before leaping into the fray to annihilate them, she wasn't going to let them die painlessly, no she was going to make them suffer. As they took Lie Ren from her and turned him into one of them. They would get no mercy or remorse from her.

* * *

Satele was battling an opponent on the same skill level as Malgus, though this woman was much harder to combat than him. This was due to her use of illusion and deception, but Satele was able to combat this with various forms of combinations of force and lightsaber combat. Satele was shocked that this young woman was the Visorium, though her skill seemed to confirm this allegation. As their blue blades clashed Imperious kept both of the Grand Master's blades locked as she kicked in the stomach. Stunned, Satele back stepped to recover her balance as Imperious leaped forward coming down with a strike on the hilt of her lightsaber, slicing it in two, again. Satele countered with a force push as she took the separate halves of her saber and saw they were still functional.

Satele counterattacked with these halves against Imperious's Castle and Jackal. Their battle was a brutal one as they switched from defense and offense readily. Satele finally made some headway on her Sith opponent. A light cut on her right arm, then a stab on her right leg, these wounds staggered the Sith, giving Satele the upper hand. Visorium was getting sluggish and over extended, Satele took advantage of this fault. Managing to Disarm Visorium, Satele had her blade crossed ready to decapitate her at the slighted wrong move. It was at this point Imperious laughed wickedly at Satele. Imperious ripped castle from the floor with the force, igniting it midair across Satele left arm. At this point, the real Imperious Stood behind Satele the illusion in front of her fading as Imperious Rearmed herself. Satele with her left arm now severed and in great pain, she needed to retreat. Imperious baring down on her made this difficult with one arm. Focusing, the Grand Master performed a force repulse slamming Imperious on to the wall. This action gave the wounded Jedi time to escape, as in her condition this battle could not be won, as Imperious recovered quickly after that.

She shrugged as the Jedi Master retreated, she knew it wasn't her time yet, no she would be felled by someone she trusts. Imperious smiled seeing some more of the disguised Republic troopers soldiers, at least she wouldn't be bored.

* * *

In the hanger, the Slaughter of the Republic's disguised forces continued. Winter and Pyrrha leading the charge. Roman by this point had realized how the Republic pulled this off, they had deactivated Waldstahl's defensive turbolaser batteries. With an objective in mind and the opposition wavering and dwindling away, Roman gave his orders. Leaving a contingent force to support Winter and Pyrrha as they covered his rear flank. Taking some of his best men and Neo, Roman left the hanger to retake the command center.

Winter and Pyrrha, supported by the guardsmen, kept pushing their advantage. Eventually, they had defeated the force of Republic troopers, and no more seemed to be inbound on their position as more Hiskal Guards showed up with heavy blasters. Following Pyrrha and Winter's instruction, the Guard Readied for another wave setting up emplacements and cover. The next wave never came, though intense fighting continued in all the halls of the fortress.

* * *

In the Archive, Weiss had made it her goal to clear this room in Malserik's place. The Jedi were raiding the place like the White Fang looted Schnee Dust facilities. Seeing this only made Weiss angrier as she continued walking through the Archive. She had fire dust slowly being injected into her lightsaber blade along with her force lightning charge. This was the deepest Weiss had ever been in Malserik's Archives, the amount of Relics and Artifacts amazed the young lord. Swords of the Sith of alongside holocrons, Sith and Jedi alike. Clearing more masked Jedi and republic troops she made her way to a vault in the back of the Archive that the Jedi had to open manually, as they couldn't cut the door due to it being Mandalorian Iron. Weiss cleared the vault with little to no resistance.

In the vault, after clearing it, Weiss decided to see what was so valuable that Malserik put so much effort into sealing it away from the galaxy in the way he did. Looking inside she found a Holocron, that was oddly shaped, being a four-sided pyramid that could fit in her hand. It was black in color with a faint orange glow. Something about the Holocron ignited an urge in Weiss to open it, to understand its secrets. As she grabbed it, unable to look away from it. As she held it the Holocron opened it pulsed a concussive wave that knocked Weiss unconscious as she received a vision.

The young blue and white clad lord was scared. She was in a dark dimension, as she looked around she saw oily figures that looked like Grimm in the distance. In front of was a figure with oily black figure cloaked in black robes, his eyes glowing brightly through a bone-like mask with red markings above the eye. The mask seemed familiar to the White and Blue clad lord. Though, as she looked at the dark lord she felt the cold emptiness he was.

"You. You have fought my creations," The figure spoke his words were dead whispers that were boomingly loud. This voice and vision had Weiss cringing in fear, something she had not felt in a long time. "You are from that world, banished so long ago."

"What are you talking about?" Weiss asked of the figure, her voice quivering and trembling as she asked.

"You are a daughter of the force and you have been through the vortex," The voice continued in his horrifying tone. As he drew closer to Weiss, this figure had Weiss fearing the worst, wishing she had Mitternacht in this vision. "You have seen much for your young age, and you are the Disciple of Malserik, and the Daughter of Atris," The figure continued, "For this incursion, I give you a gift, the same one I gave your master, along with another gift, the secret of the Aura!" The figure spoke as he lowered his right hand to Weiss's left eye. As much as she wanted to move she could not her body was locked in place. Her face burned as his hand pressed on it, She Screamed as pain tore through her face. Though, she also felt another pain like her face had just be sliced open by a saber, from cheek to cheek crossing her nose. Though as the Grimm-like man did this Weiss felt something change to her aura, like it was morphing and merging with something.

* * *

Above in the courtyard Ruby and Blake were dueling in the cold snow, Ruby refused to hurt Blake. Though, Blake was pushing the aggression in this duel. Ruby could feel her anger as the cat faunus struck. Sparks flying off their crackling, humming blades as they collide against each other. Force powers implemented, to delay strikes, parry, and counterattack. Blake kept up with Ruby, pushing her darksided friend back further and further. Though with each step Ruby took backward she increased her ferocity as she was taking it easy on Blake, not wanting to hurt her.

Blake was feeling anger and rage, she wanted to stop Ruby as she realized she was behind the attack on the Pride of Alderaan, and she wanted to get revenge for what Ruby did to Jaune. Blake wanted to believe she could still have some good in her. Though, Ruby's actions killing an entire crew of Republic troopers, and leaving Jaune for dead, to Blake was unforgivable. The cat faunus was taking her anger out on Ruby, Her strikes powered by her lust for vengeance. Blake saw an opening and took advantage of it slicing at Ruby's legs.

Ruby leaped back, thankful for her aura as she tanked the blow to her right leg. She knew at this point she could not play around with this battle anymore. Throwing Blake back with a force push, the cat faunus slammed into one of the ships as she dissolved into shadows, tipping Ruby off to her semblance being used. As this happened Ruby saw Blake reappear right in front of her. Blake with her back turned plunged her blade into Ruby's stomach. She felt pain, pain unlike any other as her Aura was being depleted by the strike. Ruby backed off the attack to recompose herself as Blake swung around, slicing a line across her face.

* * *

 **A/N: I feel like an ass for a cut to black cliff hanger like that, but yeah things are burning (why do I feel like I am going to get another "What was that last sentence wtf** **" for this?). Also, some massive plot points are being revealed, though I haven't outright stated what is going on yet, but that's the fun of it all! I really don't have much to say here, as I don't want to comment on events in progress! Also see chapter one if you are curious as to why the title and chapter titles changed.**

 **Review responses:**

 **JimmyHall24: they might, they might not, all depends on things that happen.**

 **hornofdesolation: I am glad you found it to be informative.**

 **Guest: That's not a bad idea, I like that actually, I may use that in a later chapter.**

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	32. Chapter 32: No More Games

**A/N: Here we are yet another chapter, I am having fun, Chapter 32: No More Games. (Very creative title I know)**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: No More Games.**

* * *

This strike broke Ruby's crimson aura, laying a cut across her face horizontally. The tip of the saber burned the flesh as it cut her face. Recoiling, Ruby screamed as she recomposed herself. Her face in great pain, both in her right eye and the cut. Though as she recoiled from the strike something felt different with her aura, almost like the force was affecting it in some way even though for as long as she has had the force it was a separate ability.

It was at this moment Ruby snapped fully embracing the dark side as she realized Blake was fully willing to hurt and even kill her. Blasting a bolt of force lightning out of her left hand, though her lightning had shifted color from it usual purple to red. As Blake recoiled blocking the attack from her saber absorbing the attack, Ruby assembled Rose De Sang and extended its hilt and switched its main top blade to the quillon so it was now a light scythe. Blake's eyes went wide with the thought of, __by the force no, she has a scythe.__ Blake trembled with fear as this sight, though what she saw next shocked her even further, Ruby's red and white mixed aura pulsed back to life, though her metal arm had an aura of its own and it was black, pitch black and spreading. Even with all that she witnessed, the words that came next would end up haunting the Faunus Jedi for the rest of her life.

"No. More. Games. BLAKE!" Ruby's voice roared, as she blasted forward using the force and her Speed semblance to increase her speed to ludicrous levels. Though, as Ruby's aura pulsed back to life healing her wounds in full Blake watched with fear as she prepared to intercept the incoming strike from Ruby's blade.

As she darted around looking for the perfect opening on Blake, Ruby felt like the force itself was tethering to her Aura. It felt like the bond between her and Weiss but this was between her and the force. This surge in her connection to the force was palpable to the young Sith, as she felt the surge in power making her smile wickedly. She felt her aura pulse with power as it intermingled with the Darkside of the force. As she felt this new, heart fluttering sensation, Blake's defense opened up and pounced in for an attack with her light scythe.

Blake could barely register where Ruby was. The air cracked as she darted around her causing puffs of snow to pop up from the ground. Blake steeled herself for the attack to her neck blocking it with Candlelight's blade. Though, she quickly got kicked in the spine by Ruby as swung around behind her due to the momentum of the attack. Stunning the real Blake, Ruby force slammed her to the snow cover duracrete pad. Blake recovering, rolled away from a downward strike as Ruby aimed for her legs. Jumping back up on her feet, Blake readied her double saber for more combat. Ruby came back in for a hooking swipe that Blake avoided though she had to react quickly as the opposite blade came around which she locked and tried slamming Ruby with a force push to no avail.

Blake had to retreat back, but as she did she found a large duracrete slab ripped from the ground flying at her. Unable to shove it back, she sliced it in two. As she did she found a downward strike from a light scythe coming from above. Blake barely managed to parry that strike, deflecting the hammer like blow into the ground. Though Ruby quickly followed the strike up with a swipe with the opposite blade. Blake ducked under the strike as she activated her semblance, the clone barely formed before Ruby had dealt with it, though it did give Blake a chance to retreat. She had leaped on top of one of the landed dropships seemingly without Ruby noticing. She was mistaken in that assumption.

She felt the entire ship lift off the ground, then shot off the back of the mountain. Blake managed to avoid being thrown with it by rolling off the front. Though her legs caught in something as she fell to the ground even though nothing was around. It was at that point she looked at her legs as she hung in the air. On her legs were two floral glyphs that reminded her of Weiss's semblance but she never had a glyph that looked organic. That's when Blake realized they weren't Weiss's, they were Ruby's own brand of glyph. Thankfully she located Ruby and blasted her with a disruptive force push, which weakened Ruby's focus on the Glyphs just enough to break them.

Falling back to the ground, Blake slammed Ruby back with all the might she had into the exterior wall of Waltstahl, stunning her, putting her into a daze for a time. Walking over to Ruby, Blake readied to cripple the young Sith and former friend for capture by stabbing her joints out, though it was at this moment the Droid that had been surveying the battle had decided it was time to intervene, and it was at this point a blaster bolt flew out from his rifle and slammed into Blake's back.

* * *

"Conviction, Threat to Mistress's life confirmed, executing the Meatbag." HK-47 spoke as he watched Ruby and the Jedi's battle from afar. Sighting on the Jedi he fired. The yellow bolt hit her in the back cracking her aura as he gave a quick follow up shot followed by several more then even more followed. As HK thought to 'exercise his trigger finger,' All these bolts hit across Blake's body, each impact causing her to recoil from each impact, causing her to stagger further and further. Though she was in shock and could not react to the bolts as the impact of the bolts spun her around allowing for the front of her body to be peppered with blaster fire.

She could not scream in agony as each bolt left their mark, either hitting her body directly or grazing her. Dropping Candlelight, she fell to the ground seemingly lifeless with multiple blaster wounds to her body. The last bolt took a notch out of her right feline ear. In total Blake took thirty-five blaster bolts all across her body. All of the wounds smoking as she lay on the ground, her aura doing what it could to keep her alive. Though, HK was very pleased not finishing her off as he decided the target would not last much longer and the threat was neutralized.

* * *

Ruby stood back up recovering from the slam she had just suffered, seeing Blake seemingly incapacitated she was allowed a lull to examine the situation. She could feel her aura was overcharged and the wound on her face from Blake's attack was healing under the soot on her face and this was all due to the massive burst of force supercharged aura she had just unlocked. Ruby saw Blake on the ground, various wound on her body, she could tell they were blaster wounds, she didn't know from where these wounds came but the young Sith could sense she was still kicking.

Grinning insanely, Ruby huffed as she picked up De Sang and retracted the hilt to its standard length. Walking up to Blake, Ruby looked at her, she was critically wounded blood and ash in the snow, she almost resembled a corpse to Ruby, but she knew somehow she was still alive. Ruby still enraged, readied to deal a fatal blow to Blake, until she sensed an attack coming from behind. Catching the aggressor's blade on a Quillon of the rear blade. Whipping around, Ruby countered, with a quick strike on the blue blade. Though the blue blade was quickly withdrawn to defend from a blaster bolt as the Jedi deflected the bolt back towards the Sniper that was over watching the battle. As a flash of something sparking in the distance signaling she redirected the bolt back to the shooter.

* * *

"Annoyed, I must withdraw," HK-47 said as he stood on the post he had been camped on top of, his blaster rifle's scope smoldering as the deflected bolt destroyed his method of long distance engagement. Being too far for the hunter-killer droid to engage without closing to distances where he could be seen by Ruby, and it was too soon for her to know about him. "Excited, though Master Revan would appreciate footage of her"

* * *

Back in the courtyard Satele stood in front of the lightly clad Sith female in front of her, Satele looked at her face seeing the soot of a lightsaber strike, though the tissue looked undamaged. Satele quickly noted Blake behind Ruby, who was on the ground, her life fading away. It was at that second the Grand Master realized who she was looking at, Ruby Rose. Standing, her missing arm tingling in pain as she readied the half of her saber staff in her remaining hand. Ready for combat. Ruby jolted as she felt a tingle in her spine, she felt Weiss was in danger. Seeing the Jedi who looked ready for war. Ruby pressed the attack she was not going to let this Jedi live. Though her first strike was parried by the blue blade, but she kept the offensive, attacking with twin sabers.

Satele, for one of the few times in her life, felt legitimate fear as she dueled Ruby. As she fought, the stump where her left arm was supposed to be, ached as she saw the metal one of her opponent. Ruby was fighting with a full ferocity that Satele could not counter easily. It wasn't long before she noticed Ruby connect her saber staff and started to use her sabers as one, trying to use the staff to lever an attack on Satele. Red lighting bolting up the blades and quillons as she charged them. Surrounded by a red glow, Ruby bolted forth as Satele barely evaded the inbound attacks though she managed to get a grazing cut on the Sith's left hand. Despite her aura tanking the hit the blow still loosed her grip causing her to drop her saber, allowing Satele to fling it away into the distance.

This act enraged Ruby even more, as half of De Sang was thrown into the vast expanse of snow and forest. Switching between one and two handed grips, Ruby lashed out at the one-handed Jedi, who managed to get another strike in on Ruby's leg, grazing the aura. Ruby smirked at the pain, her semblance really kicking up in a unique and new way. Petal flowing from De Sang's blade. Charging her semblance in her blade she flicked her wrist as the petals crack off a high velocity. The petals hit Satele giving her lacerations and puncture wounds, cauterized by the Saber petals.

This odd attack staggered Satele, though she recovered quickly. Darting forward, she engaged Ruby with a flurry of strikes. Her strikes were awkward as she had one hand at her disposal. Though she did push Ruby into a defensive Stance. Even for someone in relax wear Satele saw the daughter of Surik was an intimidating Sith though her eyes when she looked into them she saw the haunting mask of Revan appear over her face. Satele felt the darkness in the dark woman's heart as she saw the environment morphing to that of a hellish landscape. Satele knew force illusions could be elaborate but this was a whole new level.

"So you are Satele Shan, Grandmaster of the Jedi Order," Ruby growled as she appeared in front of Satele as the illusion disintegrated, slicing the emitter of Satele's saber deactivating it, and disarming Satele. Ruby quickly shifted her Blade to Satele's throat with full intent to kill as she needed to find Weiss as soon as possible. Though it didn't go to plan as Satele retaliated, dodging the red blade, and kicking the young woman's legs out from underneath her, sending her tumbling down into the snow with a poofy thud. Having to get her away as quickly as possible she used the force to send the fallen Ruby back into the fortress of Waldstahl specifically into one of the smoldering blaster impacts from the attack. Once the daughter of Surik was out of the way, Satele rushed over to Blake and picked her up while issuing the recall order, if she could have one person survive it was going to be Blake, the Kolto tank in the Fury.

Ruby after being flung landed in a pile of orange hot orange metal rubble on her right side, her Aura was depleted saving her from the sharp metal she slammed into and almost got impaled on and what little bit of her aura was left was taken up absorbing a fireball blast from a detonation inside the fortress that vented as Ruby fell. So the blast and slam into the orange-hot metal seared the right side of her body with a fresh set of third degree burns, she managed to push herself off the pile for a second with her right arm but she fell back in her face slamming onto an orange hot chunk of metal causing her to let out an ear shattering scream as her face like her body took substantial second and third degree burns. Fighting the shock in her body from the trauma she pushed back off, rolling off to the side off of the searing hot metal, Standing back up she looked at the red and black charred skin on the right side of her body, it hurt so much. Like her fight with Cinder, it was only her right side that took the damage.

Her clothing was burned and ragged on her right side, as she stood in the decimated part of the fortress she could a lot of the structure was to be like this. At her feet was her lightsaber, it was at that point she heard the caw of a bird. Looking up, a dark bird almost like a crow or raven, a bird of bad omen, either way, landed on a jutting out beam above her looking down at her before taking back off. She then heard the roar of a ship's engine she saw the landed fury's engines were warming up. As started to take off, Ruby reached out with her left hand, grabbing the ship with a force grip, holding it stationary in the air, it was a strain to do but she managed to hold it down until a small rear mounted defense blaster slammed into the ground next to her, breaking her concentration, allowing the ship to escape.

It was at that moment Ruby realized she had to go and find Weiss as soon as possible, as she was so consumed with trying to kill these Jedi, she forgot about what was much more important.

* * *

As the battle between Ruby and Blake had just started, Malserik was dueling the Jedi Healer, the former Padawan of the Jedi that killed his family. With each slash and attack, Malserik cursed his family's assailant's name. His viridian saber clashing on the cyan sabers. Alik-Zander was a master of Telekinetic saber dueling, and he usually carried twenty lightsabers on him to overwhelm his opposition with the vast amount of Sabers. Malserik was not trained in how to combat such a threat so he took some light grazes and cuts as he sliced at the hilts of the sabers. Engaging the rotary Blade of SturmKrieg was his best option as it flung the floating sabers out of his way, though if they were not destroyed within minutes Malserik deemed he had entertained this Jedi for too long. Falling back Malserik unclasped his eye patch partially, unleashing his gaze upon Jedi. Anderon fell to the floor, convulsing in pain. Normally, Malserik would never have done this to the Jedi, but these were not normal circumstances. Though, Malserik removed his gaze after nine seconds just before the verge of lethality. Crippling the Jedi as he pinged his location to his guardsmen.

Recovering his eye with his hand, he walked back to find the legless Balikor and Dornettz. He uncovered his eye, focusing his sight on them. Smiling the Sith cherished their screams, he gave them nine seconds as well. Letting them recover he got down on his left knee, crouching on the scorched and charred floor. As the Baron of Hiskal did this he spoke to the traitorous elements, their eyes fixated on the man they had deceived.

"If you had betrayed me for another Sith, I might have killed you now, but you had to betray me to them!" Malserik hissed gesturing to Anderon, "I need to find out what you told them. So I promise you pain and agony that will make what I just did to you seem like a stubbed toe."

"We won't tell you shit!" Dornettz panted back defiantly.

"Well, you won't have to tell me anything." Malserik smirked, he had his methods but Ruby had even better methods and he was going to let them know that with, "I won't be conducting the interrogation, Ru-" Malserik said standing up his eye right wincing in a slight stabbing pain as he re-affixed his eye patch,"no. No. NO!" Malserik screamed as he felt that Holocron being opened. He saw five guardsmen dart around a corner, Malserik stood facing them as he said, "Arrest these traitors and the Jedi! Get them medical attention I don't want them to die on us yet."

"YES, MY LORD!" The Guards yelled as they called for a medical team. Malserik drew his saber, __whoever opened that Holocron will DIE!__ Malserik Screamed mentally as he ignited his saber his left eye pulsing as it renewed its yellow color. He ignited his saber as he bolted towards the archive.

* * *

Roman and Neo had encountered a large amount of resistance from more opposing forces as they approached the defense control room. The resistance was waning but Roman was on the point of his troops spearhead, in his mind he had a tune going he remembered from Remnant, as he had his blaster pistol firing its fire orange bolts each shot he fired connected with a target, Neo was firing yellow bolts out of her rifle from the rear of the formation, each one hitting with deadly effects. This was was war, this was true combat. The Troops behind Roman had moral and vigor behind them, motivated my Roman they stormed forward to the control room and retook Waldstahl reactivating the defensive cannons. Though they couldn't aim low enough to hit the one landed dropship, but who ever took off in it would be in for a rude surprise

* * *

Weiss felt hazy as she regained consciousness, for a few moments she felt weightless. As she looked around all she could see was black. Instead, to compensate for her current lack of sight, she felt the room around her with the force. She could feel figures closing in on her with the force. Weiss felt around on the floor for Mitternacht, feeling it as she patted her hand on the ground. Feeling and hearing the figures closing in the blinded Weiss leaped to her feet in a staggering manner. Feeling the activation stud, she ignited the saber, her Saber jumped to life as she heard more sabers activate as her right eye tingled and vision returned to her left. Her vision fading in, she could see she was surrounded by five Jedi and their troopers.

"Sith lower your weapon and come with us, you will not be harmed," one of the Jedi said to the confused Weiss, whose vision was at peak function in her right, nondominant right eye. She saw the blue and green blades of the Jedi surrounding her. She realized she was in quite the predicament as she started to regain vision in her right eye, though Weiss smirked at the challenge, she needed to vent her frustration after that vision. Though as her right eye opened the Jedi her gaze locked on collapsed in pain. His screams rang through the air as all eyes were on him, though after ten seconds of agony his body disintegrated into ash. Weiss leaped back as the Jedi charged her back to the wall she could see all of the force that had her pinned her in her right eye. Her vision in her right eye was tinted red as all the Jedi and their forces within her vision, fell over screaming, as Weiss watched in horror, unsure of the device doing this.

After the ten seconds past the bodies disintegrated to ash before Weiss. Weiss was panicking, she didn't know what was happening, as she darted forth looking to escape the room. It was then her gaze fell upon four loyal hiskal guardsmen, they too collapsed in pain as the vision in Weiss's right eye flashed even deeper red. Weiss immediately covered her right eye in the horrific realization. Her right hand clamped to her face, a surviving Jedi walked up behind Weiss she turned to face him her right hand still holding her eye as the Jedi readied his saber, his eyes yellowed with the dark side. At this point her the right side of her body was engulfed in a burning pain which caused her to buckle, along with dodging the Jedi's strike as she fell to the ground in intense pain that she knew was coming from Ruby's body. As she fell she uncovered her eye and Weiss's reddened gaze fell on the Jedi aggressor. With that, he fell screaming, the screams shattered Weiss's ears as she slammed her hand back over her eye as her face ignited with the same pain. Though as she did, the Jedi's screams were ended by swift lightsaber strike, a viridian lightsaber strike.

* * *

Viridian looked over at his former apprentice for a few minutes as the situation clicked together in his mind, seeing the horrified look on her face and fact she was cupping her eye. His mind was in denial, though this denial quickly shifted to a furious, unreasonable anger. Going purely of his anger he raised his saber to strike the stunned Weiss down like a traitor, a move he would soon come to regret. As he came in for the strike he saw a giant blue sword blade attached to an arm that was partially formed from a unique glyph. Then he felt two gleaming gold eyes looking at him with fury and unrelenting anger. Leaping in, a furious and wounded Sith engaged as the summoned arm faded away. Malserik swung back with SturmKreig trying to bypass Rose De Sang's bloody blade, with little success as Ruby blocked the attack swiftly. Both parties overwhelmed with anger and fury, they clashed in a duel that to most would have looked like a blur. Ruby with fast wide strikes of form seven, Malserik fine minute movements of form two.

The duel went on for a few minutes, Weiss watching in horror realizing this duel was caused by her actions, her curiosity. As it was at this second she knew Malserik's strife. Though it was at the second Malserik was going to unleash his gaze by undoing his eye patch when a loud voice boomed and two blue blades stopped the duel just as Ruby gained the upper hand physically but Malserik was milliseconds from disabling Ruby with his gaze.

"Malserik, Ruby, stop this. NOW!" Imperious Roared intercepting both of their blades with her two blue ones and disarmed them as Malserik snapped out of his anger, and burned Ruby relented, looking at the sight of Weiss pressing her hand hard to her right eye as imperious tore off a piece of fabric from the nearest Jedi corpse that wasn't ash. Ruby rushed over to Weiss, dropping De Sang as she bolted over. Weiss not wanting to hurt Ruby shoved her away and ran, bolting off with speed, further accelerated by the force and glyphs, not even bothering to pick up her own saber.

"Care to explain, Viridian?" Ruby said ripping her saber off the ground with the force and Mitternacht in her left hand, as she ignited both it gave a dichotomy of Ruby, one side lusting for war and battle, the other wanting knowledge and justification.

"Weiss found the Holocron of Darth Nihilus," Malserik replied somberly, as it dawned on him what he tried to do, "She now suffers my curse, those who her right eye gazes upon for more than ten seconds perishes in ash," Malserik continued ashamed of his actions more than anything, Ruby lowering the sabers as Imperious looked at Malserik with a look that begged the question of 'you had that Holocron this whole time?'

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked, her voice seething with rage as she wanted to chase after Weiss. Though she was concerned over the general situation as she could feel Weiss's emotions, right now if Ruby tried to help right now, Weiss would push her back.

"For now nothing can be done with Weiss, she was just like me, you will need to help her through this Ruby," Malserik spoke somberly again as he readied his saber, "Though, in due time, first we must make sure Waldstahl is secure first." He spoke ashamed, though he darted out of the room he had to get back to his troops and assist in the clearing effort, he needed to vent and what little remained of the Republic forces would do nicely for that task.

After a minute after Malserik left, Imperious contemplating the situation turned to Ruby who was still there, she noticed the fresh burns and charring on her flesh, They looked third degree and second degree, her aura wasn't healing it as much as it should have been. As a matter of fact, if it was healing her it wasn't noticeable.

"Ruby, why aren't your wound's healing?" Imperious asked quite concerned on the matter of Ruby's well-being, especially considering the severity of the burns.

"I am conserving my Aura for combat," Ruby replied somewhat lying, turning to face Imperious, these burns were much more substantial and painful than the ones cinder had given her, and she was quite exhausted from all of the combat from today. She was in no condition to use her Aura to heal the wounds. Imperious saw how the burns affected her face, they were quite noticeable she would have to see how they heal before she could judge how they looked on her former apprentice, but Imperious did have one comment to make on what she said.

"Ruby, if you can't heal those you need to get those wounds dressed or treated, you shouldn't continue, you should rest, let us handle this," Imperious said putting her hand on Ruby's left and undamaged shoulder.

"There is no rest for the wicked," Ruby said as she started walking down the halls wincing with each step as they did, in fact, have to clear the fortress. She didn't even know how bad the burns were but she knew they were bad. _I hope Weiss is okay,_ Ruby thought as she walked back through the path she took to reach the archive with Mitternacht and a half of De Sang in hand. She was helping make sure the facility was secure.

* * *

by this point, Satele had loaded the wounded Blake into the Kolto tank aboard the Fury after a medical droid worked to stabilize her. Satele neglected to grab Blake's lightsaber as she couldn't even wait for anyone else to withdraw. She had already waited for as long as possible to see if anymore Jedi or troops would make it out beside them. Satele had to make a call she did not want to make she had to evacuate lest she risked the death of Blake and herself, and her death would be too traumatic for the Jedi. With this fact in mind she took off, praying more would escape, but no one would. Even their escape almost did not occur as Ruby was seemingly very persistent and still powerful enough to hold a starship in place and that further frightened the Jedi Grand Master. As fate would have it no more could escape as Waldstahl's orbital defense cannons were brought back online and those few that managed to make it back to the one surviving dropship were shot down after they tried to take off.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this was something, first off, the 'no more games' scene was one of my favorites to write back in the original story. As for the battle between Blake and Ruby, I wanted it to be a bit more dramatic and epic to show off Ruby's power. Same with Satele and Ruby's battle, but that one I changed the ending of considering in the original I had Ruby let them go, and when one is consumed by rage, they don't simply let something go. I also wanted have Ruby pay a bit of a price for that rage. Also, thank you, Guest, I decided to use the Crow omen.**

 **Review responses**

 **Dusk Clark: Here it is.**

 **JimmyHall24: It would be an interesting parallel, but no Blake isn't going to be captured anytime soon.**

 **ToxicGentleman: Welcome, I am glad you enjoy the story, as for the original, the original was effectively this same story but suffering from newbie writer issues, and was very cringy at the start, grammar and what not. So don't feel like you missed much there is more content now than there was then.**

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	33. Chapter 33: Accursed Sight

**A/N: Well here is Chapter 33: Accursed Sight.**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Accursed Sight**

* * *

Weiss ran and ran into the cold snow, she had done it, and she was a monster beyond repair now, able to kill just by looking at someone. A power so monstrous her master a man who was a close friend, no a father to her, attempted to kill her, and it pitted Ruby against him. This scared her more than anything as they looked like they would have killed each other if they had not been stopped by Imperious. Add in the fact that Holocron did something to her Aura, making very unstable and hard to use at the moment, as it felt like it was tied to the force now. Weiss was scared, confused, and broken and the tears flowing from her eyes as she ran into the blizzard showed this. She didn't want to go near Ruby for her own safety, she didn't want to expose her to such a horrific and painful exposure to her gaze. Along with that, she was scared of Malserik, as he just tried to strike her down. For the first time in a long time, she was afraid.

As she ran through the ensuing blizzard, her body was numb to the cold. though after a few steps after entering the forests, she tripped on something in the snow, falling face first into the dense heavy snow, she recomposed herself and investigated what it was that made her trip, What it was shocked her as it was a half of Rose De Sang. Picking up the saber, she felt a warmth in her heart, as she held the cold phrik saber hilt close. Weiss was shocked more that Ruby had lost it than the fact of that she found it. At least she had a weapon As she did the thunder snow above morphed into a horrific storm and Weiss heard raspy mechanical breathing all around her. Scared, the twenty-year-old Weiss activated the cross guard saber, and the odd saber flared to life in Weiss's hand.

"You hold the saber of my charge, you are her love, yet you run from her embrace. Why?" A booming voice asked from the darkness around Weiss, as a looming figure walked out of the blizzard his cape flowing in the wind.

"You are not Exar Kun!?" Weiss stated shocked at the tall armored figure whose breathing had Weiss uneasy and fearful.

"You hold Fleurnoire's lightsaber, there for you get to speak to me, " the Darth said to the weary girl, his voice roaring and deep. "I am the one who gave her her arm, and today she understands what it means to be Sith, though her final trial still awaits her."

"So what does this have to do with me!?" Weiss retaliated her odd eye vision driving her mad as this vision was seemingly unaffected by it.

"I sense your anger and fear Glatteis, do not be ashamed of such gift, it wasn't given to be a burden, it was given as a gift, to give you power, the ability to cause agony at a glance, most Sith would be giddy at the thought of such a power, yet you run," The Darth boomed now towering over Weiss as a drop ship flew over getting pelted with heavy turbolaser fire. After a few hit, the dropship exploded in the air. Weiss held De Sang up to towering Darth, who took his saber and swatted it out of the way, "You are weak, not even worthy of being called a Sith, you are a scared child while Fleurnoire, Noxcaedis, and Svarttrost, are becoming true Sith, disciples of death and destruction! You have such great potential!" Next to the Darth came a figure Weiss saw as herself, though older and much. Much darker. The blue in her hair almost black, the Iris in her right eye blood red, her skin pale to white, and her left eye covered in a gradient darkness, the eye itself had a glowing red iris with red vein coated black sclera. The dark image ignited her saber, it was a brilliant crimson. Though, Weiss took offense to this perversion of who she was, yelling a battle cry as she struck her twisted duplicate of herself with the half Rose De Sang.

"That will not be me, I can control myself, I won't let myself become that!" Weiss roared handling the half of De Sang like Ruby would, with a furious grace. She lopped through the doppelganger slicing it as it faded into shadows. Then she turned De Sang towards Vader, the blade's deep humming as the blade pulsed with life with each word Weiss spoke, "if I have to kill using this damned eye I will, I will do what needs to be done to fight you and defeat you!" Though, as she said the last words and began her charge, her body ignited with pain. It was not a physical pain. No, it felt like her soul was tearing, being stretched to its limits.

"And you just went past two kilometers. Glatteis you cannot defeat me like this, you are too weak, though, let the hate pain and anger fuel you!" The masked Darth boomed at Weiss as De Sang pulsed as Weiss blasted lightning into the blade.

"Fuel me, huh?" Weiss said chuckling as the pain, morphed into a fuel as her aura withered. She stood, "My fuel will be your death!" Weiss roared as she engaged the Sith fueled by pain and anger as the modification to her aura showed through. Her semblances were enhanced by the white, red, and shadowy aura that engulfed her, her Aura and the force feeding the other even though she was separated from Ruby. Each strike the dark lord countered back with counters and parries.

The waves of pain from being past the safe aura merge distance made Weiss fight like an insane killer rather than the precise duelist she normally was. Flailing the blade around wildly, in form seven like attacks, her body was using the raw power of the Darkside as she pressed her attack on the lord who was on the defensive. Though, Vader faded with each strike slipping away from Weiss.

"I am not the one you must defeat, now go back to Fleurnoire." the dark lord said as the vision faded. And the pain of her soul being stretched to its limit she walked back towards the flaming wreckage of Waldstahl and the pain stopped.

* * *

While Weiss was running Ruby was going through the process of clearing Waldstahl Imperious had followed her former apprentice as she struck down anyone who dare bare a weapon against her. Imperious was shocked at how cold Ruby was at the moment. She cut down the troops like a child doing a chore, no passion, no ferocity, no fun. She knew Ruby was angry and distraught, she wanted to go find Weiss, but Weiss couldn't run away, and she would have to come back. Eventually, they got the all clear message and they returned to Malserik's office.

though en route Ruby collapsed in a fit of pain. Imperious was concerned thinking the burns were finally getting to her. Though Ruby told her it wasn't a physical pain, and it was sincere and very concerning, as her still drained Aura was seemingly sapped away by this event. After a second she realized she couldn't feel Weiss anymore. This made Ruby lock up, though as she realized that the pain stopped and She could feel Weiss's Aura again. Standing back up Ruby shrugged off Imperious 's concern and continued to Malserik's office. Inside Malserik was looking out of the window Ruby could feel his shame, and sadness. Despite her pain and Injuries, she insisted on facing Malserik, to which she engaged the fist strike of the verbal altercation.

"Now, Malserik you owe me a fucking explanation," Ruby spoke firmly to the troubled Sith, wanting an answer for what happened earlier, even taking a trick from Roman's book and accenting her question with some potent unused vulgarity to make her point, as she felt the pain in her burns.

"Yes I am quite interested in this as well, Viridian," Imperious spoke affirming she did not understand what had occurred in the archive as well.

"Weiss activated the Holocron of Darth Nihilus, as I said," Malserik explained, his voice solemn with shame, "and that Holocron is the one that gave me my cursed eye, it kills all who I gaze upon with it as I explained," Malserik explained as the two women looked at him with vicious eyes, as he took a seat at his desk, he then continued with, "that Holocron is a secret I kept and hid even further than my eye, and feeling being opened was so enraging as I wanted no one else to bear my curse I lashed out at Weiss in anger, for that I apologize,"

"If I hadn't intervened you would have killed Ruby, Malserik thus I would have had to kill you," Imperious spoke her voice angry and disappointed as Malserik hung his head in shame before slamming his head into the desk, "and why did you never tell me you had the Holocron!?"

"I wanted no one else to suffer my curse, especially you," Malserik said looking up at Imperious, glad she was merciful to his recent failure, at least he thought she was.

"Well someone is suffering that curse now and it is my Weiss, Malserik!" Ruby yelled at Malserik trying to release her anger upon him. Her eyes glowing as she yelled though Imperious stopped her with an arm across her chest, making sure not to touch her burned skin.

"Ruby, vent your anger in a productive way, not like this, you can sense Malserik is just as troubled as you are, can you not?" Imperious asked as she stopped Ruby, she knew Malserik was at his limit and he needed support right now, "two of his best friends just stabbed him in the back, our home was destroyed, the last thing he needed was someone to open that Holocron, one that caused the curse that killed a friend of ours" Imperious spoke, knowing Malserik he was extremely torn, and she could understand why he snapped, though she was not happy with him by any stretch of the imagination, but she could forgive him.

"Well, that doesn't mean he should have threatened Weiss," Ruby yelled her darkened force infused Aura flaring in such a way that made both Imperious and Malserik shut up. They felt the raw power she held and it terrified them. Ruby then violently force pushed the door to Malserik's study open, walked out through the ripped open door. As Imperious and Malserik looked at each other, as they heard the hallway outside the study being torn apart as Ruby sulked through. Imperious looked at Malserik with a look that said, 'if you turned her against us, I will let her kill you.'

It was this look that made Malserik hand Imperious SturmKreig as he walked out of the room following Ruby's trail of destruction. His face was one of stoic determination to repair his mistakes.

* * *

On the Star Forge, Revan received an unexpected transmission from HK-47 that Waldstahl fell under attack. HK sent him images and video footage of the fortress in flames. This sight made Revan's heart sink as he saw the burning fortress, considering that was the home of his daughter. Though that's when HK sent the duel of Ruby against the two Jedi. Watching this made Revan proud of the girl he knew was his daughter but he had no part in her life. She was elegant yet devastatingly brutal with her attacks against the Jedi she faced, though he could tell she was holding back on them he suspected that would be a problem from what Yang told him of her. He shut the clip down before Yang could enter and see it. Though, Revan was smirking fiercely, as he saw Ruby was becoming a force that could potentially defeat his enemies.

* * *

As Ruby was walking up to the courtyard, alone she heard footsteps behind her, then a voice spoke, it was a voice that she did not recognize, so she quickly turned and ignited Mitternacht at the person trailing her. Turning around she saw a man that looked like no one she had seen before, she could sense the darkness he carried through what he said, concerned Ruby,

"Greetings Fleurnoire," the person said as an icy cored blade of Mitternacht was lined up with his throat, "I am Exar Kun,"

"Oh, so your the Sith that gave that Amulet to Weiss?" Ruby asked of Exar as he stood there, and replied with,

"You hold her lightsaber, there for you get to speak to me," Exar spoke as Ruby glared at him, but what he continued with made Ruby want to flay him alive. "Never have I seen a Sith spare someone for a betrayal like that, you should have killed Malserik for threatening Weiss and Imperious for interfering," Exar explained as Ruby responded to his comment by impaling the apparitions body on the half of Rose De Sang and Mitternacht. "No Sith would ever spare traitors like that, especially one as powerful as yourself, you could have ended them both!" Exar continued with the lightsabers in his chest. This time, Ruby replied with words though they came out like a growl

"Well I don't want to" Ruby growled as she removed the two blades from Exar's chest, She did want to kill Malserik originally, though she could tell he messed up legitimately, though she wanted to see how Weiss responds to his apology before she decided on what she was going to do to him. As she said that, Exar gave his response of,

"And that choice could get you killed," Exar Kun spoke as he faded away and Ruby walked down the corridor even more angered than she was.

* * *

As Ruby was walking though Waldstahl, Weiss was returning to the front courtyard of Waldstahl as the clouds cleared and the sun to shine through, bringing light to the destroyed fortress that was Waldstahl. Outside surrounding the burned-out rubble of battle, where Hiskal guardsmen from the city along with loads of Civilians were gathering, Weiss unsure of the affiliation of these people covered her eye rapidly as to not harm anyone.

"Lady Schnee! Lady Schnee!" A voice behind her called out coming up to her was a Hiskal Guardsman that was waving at her as he bolted up his helmet was off and his rank pips showed the ranks of a warrant officer. He was obviously the leader of this contingent people.

"Yes warrant officer?" Weiss asked as Warrant officer came to a stop in front of her the air started to warm as the sun shined brighter though the clouds.

"Ma'am, I am Warrant Officer Suzak Kutamori and I bring about two thousand citizens and guardsmen willing to assist!" The officer said huffing as he Saluted the under clad Weiss, it was obvious he was looking for instructions on how to proceed. "We are at your command, my lady!" The young warrant officer spoke loudly and sharply.

"Report to Roman Torchwick with the guards, and tell the people to go home the situation is under control," Weiss responded quickly holding her hand firmly to her eye.

"Yes My Lady!" the officer said as he handed Weiss a first aid kit and said, "for your eye Ma'am." and walked off. Weiss quickly took the bandages out of it after he was out of sight and the crowd was dispersing and wrapped her eye in the course bandages.

Standing up she felt a force of malice and anger coming her way from Waldstahl's main hall coming her way figuring it was Malserik coming to finish the job, Weiss readied the half of De Sang. Though that darkness fell away as the door opened and Weiss saw a figure that looked like Ruby emerge. She looked different but Weiss deactivated the lightsaber and ran up to Ruby, though she stopped mid stride as she saw how badly she was burned. The entire right side of her body was a disturbing sight, her right leg and what remained of her right arm was potentially the worst. Then came her body it seemed the burns where a third of the way across her torso at her hip, decreasing gradually as it went further up her body, her upper torso was burned but it wasn't as bad, until the collar bone, where the right side of her neck was torched along with her face. The facial burn was more focused around her right eye and cheek. Seeing this Weiss could only mutter

"Ruby,"

Ruby said nothing, as she walked up and hugged Weiss, Weiss embraced her wounded lover back, being cautious to not squeeze down to hard on her burns. They both had tears flowing from their eyes in streams as they began sobbing with joy and sadness as they were both changed from today. As the sun beamed light down on the duo, they felt each other's warmth as they hugged the other, a mix of joy and sadness filled them.

Though, behind them, Malserik was watching over them as he dismissed the nervous warrant officer. As he approached the hugging girls he walked with hands behind his back. Though as he drew closer, they broke their embrace and snapped around, Ruby igniting Mitternacht at Malserik and Weiss ignited the half of De Sang that was in her hand. It was at this moment Malserik saw the anger they both had towards him for his earlier actions and saw how they were inches away from killing him. He made a mistake, an error, one that he regretted deeply, he had betrayed them, and their trust and he would accept their decision to end his life if that is what they demanded, though he felt they wouldn't, though he still said it.

"Ruby, Weiss, If you feel my death will solve your pain, Kill me now for I am unarmed," Malserik spoke as he showed his empty yet gloved hands to them, this got Weiss to lower her saber as Ruby inched the blade closer and her muscles readied to strike out. "Before I am cut down, I would like to say one thing, I acted purely out of emotion and my desire to keep that cursed Holocron a secret. I never wanted anyone to find out the power of my eye, so no one had to cope with my curse" Malserik said as he looked Ruby in the eyes, She was acting off baser emotions, like a true Sith. With this Weiss put her hand on Ruby's metal saber hand, lowering it telling her to stand down.

"So this is your curse Malserik?" Weiss asked to Malserik, who in response, nodded back to her. Weiss lowered her head as she can imagine how he felt learning this power. "I am sorry, Malserik. The Jedi were into the vault of the Holocron-"

"And it called out to you?" Malserik interrupted, remembering his past as a Jedi and the day when he became an acolyte of darkness. Weiss nodded to say what he was saying was the case "I fully understand now, that Holocron can tempt even the strongest of Darkside users, that is why hid it so it doesn't afflict a massive amount of Sith, seeing you already understand the implications of this curse makes me regret my earlier actions," Malserik explained it was this explanation that made Ruby relax and deactivate Mitternacht and hand it over to Weiss. "Also, Ruby?"

"Yes?" Ruby replied taking a deep breath, containing her anger, and pain, she was still not through with Malserik but she was going to relent on him as she could sense his apology was genuine, she felt he made a genuine error, letting his emotions get the better of him and Weiss knew this as well.

"After we get things cleaned up, and you get medical treatment, I have a special task for you to take your anger out on," Malserik smirked knowing how Ruby was feeling he knew she was going to love what he had in store for her.

"What would that be?" Ruby inquired calmly, sensing Malserik was being snide with this.

"We captured a Jedi, Balakor, and Dornettz, and I need to know what they gave the Jedi information wise, and your ability can be quite painful from what I heard , , so please interrogate them along with the captured Jedi," This task made Ruby's face light up with a sadistic smile. "But first you need to get patched up, last thing we need is you dying from an infection, so I will have the medical staff prepare the bacta tank for you"

* * *

After staying for about to talk with Yang, better known as Revan's Apprentice by this point, along with Revan who had offered Ozpin a place in his organization after he had returned, with little to no success. Ozpin verbosely and quickly refused, he just needed to locate his students and staff. He wanted to avoid all forms of politics in this galaxy, though he figured this would turn into an inevitability. He could feel a darkness was looming and he wanted nothing to do with this as he knew Remnant needed help. He knew disaster would strike his home if he took any longer, he needed to get back with at least half of those lost in the 'incident.' Revan understanding the man's plight gave him a ship and a lead. Taiyang and Raven had encountered some Remnants on Nar Shaddaa during their Travels to unite the Revanists.

Ozpin was preparing to set out as Revan had some droids preparing his ship just as Yang came to speak with him one last time.

"Hey, Professor-"

"Please Yang, call me Ozpin," the former headmaster spoke interrupting Yang calmly, looking Yang in her now Heterochromatic eyes, as the Dark side decided to leave its mark on the former brawler, as one had locked to red while the left eye had returned to purple. As he explained his request to Yang Ozpin removed his sporty sunglasses to look her eye to eye.

"Sure thing Ozpin," Yang replied with a cheery smile and a playful salute, that seemed to be a facade, that was cracking as she began to speak again "I wanted to ask a favor of you."

"Yes, Miss Xiao Long?" Ozpin asked, curious of what her request was going to be.

"Well, I want you to contact me if you find Ruby, okay?" Yang asked calmly, "There is a comm line I keep open just in case my dad or mom wants to talk, so if you find her Ozpin, let me know and tell her I miss her," Yang said breaking down, tears flowing from her eyes Ozpin could see the damage done by the lack of Ruby in her life had done to the normally brash girl.

"I can do that Miss Xiao Long if I find Miss Rose I will contact you and tell her your message." Ozpin spoke calmly as he rested on of his hand on her shoulder. "if you want you can accompany me to Nar Shaddaa?" Ozpin asked the girl, mainly so he could have someone who could keep him company.

"I have to finish my training Revan says I am almost done, so I am going to stay here, Sorry Ozpin," Yang spoke quietly as she very much wanted to go with Ozpin.

"It is okay Miss Xiao Long, I wish you luck with your training as I must go now," Ozpin said calmly as he smiled lightly at Yang as he walked into his ship. The ship was a blacked out BT-7 Thunder Clap, stocked with enough supplies to reach the other side of the galaxy. though walking on the ship he sensed he was not alone. He could sense some life around him, and the voice he heard confirmed this.

"Sup Oz," a familiar voice spoke to him, turning around Ozpin saw Taiyang Xiao Long and Raven Branwen. he knew at that moment he was among friends who wanted to help.

* * *

 **A/N: Well this chapter was a barely changed as I felt it was good enough, I changed some elements to fit it into the continuity of the story. I really don't have much to say for this chapter. So right on to the responses.**

 **Amerdism: I personally feel that could be considered par for the course in Star Wars, considering the depressing tale that is Darth Vader and his struggles, after he was put in suit besides I have my reasons as to why I decided to do this. Besides, she may end up with a few more lightsaber scars, but nothing as severe as this.**

 **Firesa: Thank you!**

 **Toxic Gentleman: Thank you for the suggestions, though The one-way eyepatch would not work, as the ability works by what Weiss sees, as whoever she looks at with that eye will die after ten seconds, eye contact is not required for the ability to work. As for the Ruby Vader idea, I do not intend to go that far with her, as I mentioned in my Response to Amerdism, besides I don't think the Old Republic era could even make anything close to Darth Vader's cybernetics. Also, there is one thing I don't care for with the Jedi, it is seemingly how they rarely show fear when fear is a common emotion.**

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	34. Chapter 34: Instabilities

**A/N: Well here we are Chapter 34: Instabilities.**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Instabilities**

* * *

While the battle for Waldstahl raged, on Tython, a verbal battle was being waged in the council chamber. The contestants were Jedi Master Artorika versus Meetra Surik. The council watched as Artorika accused Summer of using her powers of memory alteration for direct manipulation, Jaune testifying against Summer as well. The council all had their eyes on Surik as she was sweating nervously, but she knew she still had control, as she was being interrogated by the council, though she was glad Satele was not here to deal with this. Even Surik knew the Visorium order if it had returned could be a tremendous threat.

Artorika was calm in her accusations but she council knew, she would be disgusted by Surik's methods and always quietly protested her friend's actions, though now she was fed up and thoroughly disgusted by them. She could understand using it to recover those who had fallen, though she detested Surik for her actions of using it on those who were neutral to the war. She Remembered when Jaune came to see her an hour before this meeting.

* * *

An hour prior Jaune had come looking for her, he was distraught, considering what he had just learned, she couldn't blame him. He had seen his friends practicing velocities with Surik overseeing their learning. He told Artorika, he watched them train with blue and green training sabers and waited for them to be dismissed before confronting them. He had asked them what got them to change their minds on becoming Jedi, what they told him tipped him off to what had occurred,

"Jaune we always wanted to become Jedi," and Jaune parroted this to Artorika with the context of that being an outright fabrication, they wanted nothing to do with the War, let alone join the Jedi. This fact angered Artorika which caused her to call the emergency council meeting that she did.

* * *

"Surik, I don't know why you did what you did-" Artorika said only to get interrupted by Surik.

"We are on the brink of war Artorika, we need all the Jedi we can get, if that means I have to use my abilities to speed up the process of building up our forces, I will!" Meetra explained vigorously, making her actions sound to the council like a necessary evil, and this explanation swayed some of the more verbose members of the council. Though it was at this point Surik had Artorika right under her thumb, as what she said next turned the council against her, "Besides you are one to talk Artorika, you wanted me to rewrite Viridian Malserik's mind if you captured him," This line got all of the council looking at Artorika, all looks that said "she still has feelings for that traitor?" This one line shifted the entire tone of the council. Normally Satele would be here to reign the council in and defend Artorika's view. Without Satele present, Artorika and Jaune were taking massive amounts of verbal flak for this statement by Surik, Causing Jaune to fire back with what he had.

"Master Rose," Jaune spoke making a point by using her Remnant name, "I take it you know of what happened on the Pride of Alderaan?"

"I do not, Knight Arc, as you refuse to give us all the details," Surik replied, with a hostility in her voice as she knew he was the whistleblower as he had encountered her twelve knew Remnant learners and apparently he had tried to recruit them and they declined.

"I saw Ruby, your daughter," Jaune said, feeling the need to remind Summer who her daughter was, as she seemingly did not care about her anymore. "And she was a Sith!" Jaune continued trying to discredit Surik, though it backfired with her response.

"She will see the light eventually, she is a pure soul, Jaune," Surik said with a smile as the council remained quiet, "She is my daughter and she will become a Jedi when she is ready," It was at this moment Jaune saw darkness behind Summer. He frowned and left, the young knight had realized what Surik would do to her own daughter for her plans. He was quickly followed by Artorika, who was as thoroughly disgusted as he was.

* * *

Jaune had returned to his quarters as did Artorika, who was contemplating her next move. She had to wait for Satele to get back before she could make any moves. With that thought, she was worried about the outcome of the battle of Waldstahl, as they had not heard anything from Satele or anyone from the assault team. She hoped the operation was a success and the Visoriums were routed, but there was the other part of her that wanted Malserik to be alright. She knew he wouldn't be able to return to the order, but she just wanted him back, as impossible as that was. She regretted not helping him when she noticed the signs, she regretted that she couldn't stop him. Though one part of her regretted not going with her friend.

"The past is the past," she muttered to herself, "It can not be changed, Artorika," she continued to herself. She knew she would face repercussions for her views on Malserik, considering the most recent 'betrayal' of Xiao Long was still fresh in the minds of the Jedi. Which had caused the further clamp down on families in the Order. As it stood there were faction lines being drawn in the order, Satele and what were being called as the Arbiters by the Hardliners, the group that was in line with what Surik preached. Though there were the Pacifists and the Neutrals. This divide was concerning to those Jedi who didn't care for politics, as they thought this could fracture the Jedi.

* * *

On Coruscant, in the Jedi embassy, Lie Ren sat at his desk as the council meeting came to a close, he was frankly shocked by what he heard from Jaune concerning Surik's manipulation. He was skeptical about what Jaune said, but if what he said was true, Surik would be willing to go to any length to achieve her goals.

Lie leaned forward resting his head on to his interlaced fingers thoughtfully, _This is most concerning, I will have to request leave from my post to go speak with Jaune,_ Lie Ren thought, he wanted to get the full story on this matter before he passed his judgment on either party. Though the most troubling thing he heard that night was that Jaune had seen Ruby on the pride of Alderaan and that she was a Sith. Out of the lost four, they did have thoughts that Ruby could have turned into a Sith, but everyone usually was optimistic about that fact. Along with that fact if Jaune hid that for this long Lie Ren wondered what else his teammate could be hiding. Checking his schedule he groaned with a tinge of frustration as he wasn't going to be able to leave Coruscant for a few months. if that was the case he could always summon Jaune to the embassy.

* * *

On the Fury, Satele was quietly sobbing next to Blake who was in the Kolto tank. Her operation to strike a blow on the Visorium order was a failure and an almost complete failure due to casualties. They withstood the attack, and she herself had lost her arm to Visorium, and almost lost her life to her apprentice. __By the force Summer's daughter has fallen so far, though she has some light left in her, I hope. She is very strong in the force, she seems familiar though to me, why did I see Revan in her.__ it was at that moment, like a quick slap to reality Satele realized Meetra was lying about her father. _Her father was not a Remnant at all, no... Her father was Revan._

This realization made Satele want to gag, that meant in some disturbing twist Ruby would be an ancestor to her. She was Related to Surik in a twisted turn of fate, Satele wanted to deny this idea as much as possible, though only one person had eyes like that and it was Revan. She immediately knew why Surik hid this information from her, she feared more criticism from the divided Jedi order. Satele despite being, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order still face criticism for her being a mother and having a lover, as some Jedi were less willing to be accepting of those with families since the Malserik incident. Satele only spoke to him on a few passing occasions. Though she admired Artorika for her persistence in the idea he could be redeemed, she was a knightly Jedi, with a pure soul to Satele.

Surik, however, was a different story she had lied and deceived the order on occasions but only to better the order. She wanted to defeat the empire and balance the force. Something she used often as her rhetoric, starting off Surik was not trusted but now she had a large amount of the Jedi behind her. Though, to Satele despite her cheery and bright attitude, she had a persistent dark aura around her. One of grief, sorrow, pain, and trauma, these emotions contrasted with here bright appearance.

Satele clenched her remaining arm on the bandaged Stub of her lost arm. She saw Ruby had a prosthetic and the Grand Master knew she would need one as well, along with a new saber. As she clutched her arm tighter. She saw the skill Ruby had in the handling of her weapon and it was impressive to the Jedi Master, enough so that she determined the next design of her saber would mimic Ruby's saber, though the way she would design it was a mystery to her.

* * *

Blake felt stinging all over her body as she felt the low rumble of a hyperdrive, she opened her eyes only to have them stung by the harsh liquid she was immersed in. realizing she was in a Kolto tank though the anesthesia had shut off that was supposed to keep her unconscious in the tank, mainly to prevent the panic that she was experiencing. She was scared, not sure what was going on Blake drew a pulse of force energy inside her and used it to blow out the tank.

Satele sensed Blake had awoken in the tank and was trying to figure out why the anesthetic had shut off. Though, before she could figure it out the glass of the tank shattered and behind her Blake was ripping the wires and tubes from her body. The wounds were not fully healed but it would have to do she felt the fear in Blake just from waking up in the Kolto tank, seeing Satele made Blake sigh with relief as she tore open a few of her wounds by moving. With blood trickling down her body from all of the blaster wounds, Blake tried to keep standing but the pain was quickly overwhelming her. Satele picked up Blake and moved her from the Kolto tank and put her on the nearby medical bed Satele had to help her now, as her escape from the Kolto tank destroyed the medical droid.

Though as Satele worked, Blake groaned as the purple shadowy field started to heal her wounds. Satele was informed of the Aura of the Remnants but she didn't know it had healing properties. All Meetra said about aura it was like personal shield projected from the soul, and that it can grant the wielder a Semblance. Though she also was cryptic with one explanation to if the Aura was linked to the force, Meetra gave a vague answer that said there was a connection, though, it was unknown to the Grand Master. Seeing the aura work Satele used her healing techniques to assist it in healing Blake.

Satele knew Ruby didn't harm Blake like this, as a matter of fact, she recognized the wound pattern, from old images of the Jedi Civil War. She had heard rumors that the droid was still operational, and working for Revan. If that was the case, that confirmed her that disgusting thought and it even made it worse as Revan recognized her as his child and wanted to protect her. This told the grand master that he had plans for her. Now that for the Jedi master was disturbing as Revan may have changed his opinion of the Sith or maybe sympathetic to them due to his 'daughter' being a Sith.

"please tell me that was a bad dream," Blake mumbled, distraught at the situation, Satele could look and see how horrified Blake was, she was in denial at what just happened. There was a hope in her mind that something just happened on the ship and she was injured, as her mind tried to come up with reasons to explain why she was injured, but alas the cold reality crushed her. Satele witnessed the tears roll down the side of her face as she realized the gravity of what happened.

Ruby had killed right in front of her and was fully willing to kill her by the end of it. Ruby was worse than Adam now, she had gone off the deep end. Then she had flashes of Ruby's eyes, the serene and joyful silver replaced by a dark, seemingly evil gold.

Satele put her hand on Blake's shoulder trying to sooth her nerves and soul. Though due to this Blake's entire opinion of Ruby had shifted, it had become twisted to a hatred. Something that Blake dwelled upon for the entire flight back. Her entire body had to be wrapped in medicated bandages to assist her aura in healing the grievous wounds she sustained. As the flight continued she meditated and remembered something Jaune told her, he told her that 'she might be able to get them back,' and he said it in suggested he knew something.

It was in that moment it dawned upon Blake, _He knew, he knew about Ruby, he knew she would be on Drommund Kaas, even in Hiskal._ Blake didn't know how Jaune knew this, but she had to find out.

* * *

After about a week of travel, the return to Tython was not a pleasant one for Blake as her blaster wounds had formed very painful and uncomfortable scars all across her body in the week-long journey home that where. Along with that whilst pondering the events of the raid she thought one thing, __We have been apart for too long, Team RWBY can never exist again the way it was. Ruby is a monster who will use any tactics to kill her opponents. She is a monster that needs to be destroyed, and needs to DIE! I am more than willing to do it, Yang forgive me, but your sister is unredeemable, by the force Yang if you end up joining her you will leave me no choice but to kill you too.__ As Blake walked off the Fury on to Jedi Temple's landing pads, as she did, the Faunus Jedi was greeted by Karlile, one of the few people she trusted still in this damned galaxy.

Karlile, despite her age still acted like a child and very much like how the old Ruby did. Though she had become a full Jedi knight, like Blake and the rest of the lost four, despite her lost limbs, another trait Ruby had shared with the woman in front of Blake. She figured that Surik was indeed trying to get a substitute to her Daughter, which reminded Blake of the conversation from years ago, just after the second disturbance, the worst case scenario had occurred. Still angry, Blake walked past the girl, she needed to meditate and plot how to get vengeance on Ruby.

Satele could feel the dark emotions stemming from Blake's heart and after what happened. She knew Blake would need time to recover, but she would also have to be monitored, as during the ride back Blake had sprouted a hatred and a lust for vengeance against Ruby. Satele would say that this was justified, but she couldn't let Blake dwell on those feelings for too long. Though she had her own demons to tend to. She had to have a talk with Meetra Surik at some point, but right now the Grand Master of the Jedi had to go to the medical wing to get a replacement for the arm she lost.

* * *

Jaune had heard about Blake and Satele's return and decided to meet up with cat faunus as she walked out of the hanger. When he saw her covered in white bandages under her robe, the first thing the knight asked the shadow was "Blake! What happened to you?" Blake looked at Jaune for a moment, and then she slammed him against the wall and retaliated with a question of her own,

"You knew! You knew about Ruby! You knew she was a Sith, didn't you!" her voice was like a vocal slam to the Jedi knight, considering the way she had pinned him to the wall. Her accusations were true he did indeed know about Ruby. The glare off of Blake's narrowed eyes almost made her amber eyes look like they were glowing. Before he could respond, however, another voice roared in the halls, yelling

"Blake, release him!" Jaune was scared by the way Blake had snapped at him so quickly. It took her a second before she relented and released Jaune, who fell back to the floor as Blake walked off heading back to her quarters with a groan as she glared at Jaune just before leaving. At which the one-armed Satele ran over to Jaune to see if he was injured by Blake's actions. Pulling him to his feet, Satele could tell he was more mentally shocked than mentally hurt.

"Jaune is what Blake accused you of true," Satele inquired as she wanted to confirm if there was any basis to Blake's action.

"Yes, I did know Ruby was a Sith," Jaune admitted, much to Satele's disappointment, which caused her to ask,

"Then why didn't you tell us about this?" Satele asked of the young knight. Jaune looked up at the grand master that told her one thing, he didn't want to talk to anyone about it, he didn't want to remember that they were Sith. With that Satele could understand his actions somewhat, he was disturbed. At which point Satele, gave him an order,"Jaune, please file a full report of what happened on the 'Pride of Alderaan' all of the details, nothing omitted, Am I understood" Satele explained firmly, she was only being harsh as this information would be very important for the future. After which Satele left the young knight to go find Blake, and find out what happened while she was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: well this was a chapter I found I was forcing myself to write, as I really couldn't come up with much to add really, so much so that I was considering releasing this chapter with less than 3K, but I managed to avoid that. With that in mind, I did go back through and did another sweep through all of the previous chapters with Grammarly. Along with addressing an error, I made with chapter 12's Vader appearance mainly in the Irony in what he said, Thank you Endorfinator, as this gave me an Idea for next chapter as well! So please let me know if the change works!**

 **With that in mind, I would like to say this Chapter is mainly to show what is happening with the Jedi. Now with that out of the way Review responses though these are only for the most recent chapter, as those who review an earlier chapter will get a PM response from me instead if possible.**

 **Guest: Point on Skocia, and Malgus, but I will say I won't make Ruby into a rip off Vader.**

 **That troll u H8: I might, or I may keep it with Ruby it's all dependent on what I feel like doing, though know that I have plans for that bird. (PS I don't hate you)**

 **hornofdesolation: Thank you!**

 **ToxicGentleman: Thanks! Yeah their lightsabers are bound to them so I figured it would make an interesting plot point that they could interact with each other's benefactors, as originally I only had Weiss speak with Vader in the original chapter 7, and considering how saber's have a tendency to tie themselves to their user I felt it would be interesting.**

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	35. Chapter 35: Cleaning Up

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, had a lot of things preventing me from writing these past few weeks but here we are Chapter 35: Cleaning Up**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: Cleaning Up**

* * *

While the Jedi were debating and Satele and Blake made their escape into Hyperspace, Imperious was walking to the communication room, she need to let the entire order know that their operation may have been compromised. Walking down the halls she found a section near the knight's quarters that was blood coated with few loose limbs on the ground, concerned for Nora's health, Imperious followed the trail of limbs and corpses to a scene that even made her wince at its brutality. She had found Nora torturing the few republic troops with Blodsverd's force pike charged with electricity. Imperious noted that Nora was bleeding and wounded herself. deciding it would be better for her to seek medical attention rather than let her continue, Imperious blasted the survivors with force lightning, frying them ensuring them a painful death.

"Why did you kill my sloths!?" Nora screamed, both angry and sad that her torture session was cut short.

"Go report to medical Nora, you are wounded," Imperious said calmly as Nora huffed at the fact her fun was just ruined, Imperious just used the wounded care "and by the force, don't play with your opponent's like this!" Imperious huffed as Nora followed her orders, begrudgingly. As Imperious continued on, she was seriously concerned about Nora's violent tendencies for dismemberment and blood. Though to Imperious, Nora could be kept in line, right now, it was Ruby she feared right now, her flare in power just took both her and Malserik by surprise. Something had happened to Ruby today, and it frightened Imperious to see her power grow so much in one day.

Imperious realized she needed a contingency if Ruby went rogue, she needed Khem Val ready Just in case. As she walked she thought, __I hope it doesn't come to it but I can't have her be a loose cannon.__

Imperious stopped walking looking at a hole in Waldstahl out to the city, thinking __I can't turn on Ruby, she is my friend, but so is Malserik, I can't have them at each other's throats. Damn it, if only there was some other way but I at least have to let the order know the Jedi know of our existence now, Khem Val can wait, Ruby, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Nora are invaluable to our order.__ Imperious slammed her head into the metal wall for even considering sicking Khem Val on Ruby and continued walking to the comms room, conflicted on what course of action should be taken, though she was ashamed she even considered turning on Ruby, as she was a critical piece on the board and a person she considered a friend.

* * *

After the conversation outside Ruby was convinced by Weiss and Malserik to spend the next few days in the amazingly still intact Bacta tank in the medical ward, despite Ruby's objections as she wanted to talk to all of the knights but her health had to take priority. After they reached the medical ward, Malserik focused on gathering all of the intact medical droids. Once that was done, they prepared the young Sith for immersion into the tank, With most of the irreparably charred flesh removed along with her prosthetic arm after which she was put under a significant anesthetic. After all of those procedures, she was immersed in the tank in a white gown with various implements of wires and tubes connected to her. As Weiss and Malserik watched.

Weiss could feel the peace Ruby was in resting in that tank. She could also feel how soothing the liquid was on Ruby's burns. Malserik stood there with his hand behind his back. Just by the look on his face, Weiss could see the guilt written all over his face.

"I'm sorry, Weiss," Malserik said as he put his right hand on the Bacta tank's glass. "This is all my fault," Malserik spoke guilt pouring from his mouth with each word. Malserik was shattered by this attack on his home, a lot of people got hurt, and will have scars to show from this day including Waldstahl itself. Most of the smoldering ashes were almost extinguished, but corpses of both guards and staff littered the halls across from Jedi and Republic trooper corpses. As he spoke the Hiskalan Guard were cleaning up the halls, as Malserik had dismissed all of his staff back to their quarters to what families remained. Not only had he failed Weiss, he had failed all of those under his protection residing in Hiskal.

"Viridian, we all trusted them, we were all blind to this," Weiss said trying to alleviate the pain he felt in his heart. With that said Malserik turned to face Weiss their eyes locking, eye patch to eye patch. With that Weiss said, wanting to thoroughly change the subject,

"So you never originally wanted this power?" Weiss asked of Malserik, while their eyes were locked. Malserik sighed slightly less discontent with the change in topic. With that in mind, he gave his answer.

"That is correct, in my final days as a Jedi, I was seeking power, power Sith holocrons are more than willing to give if the one opening them is not cautious," Malserik said with a bit of disdain, showing he was discontent with his choices that got him his eye. "Some even call out to you like Nihilus's tempting even the strongest willed Sith."

"His Holocron pulled me in and gave me a vision. In that vision I saw a man that looked like a Grimm," Weiss explained as she turned to look at the scarred Ruby suspended in the pod before continuing with, "and I think he may have significance in Remnant's history," Weiss said linking what Nihilus said about her fighting his creations to him being the creator of the Grimm, "If what I am thinking is correct, that thing, Nihilus, created the Grimm."

"Hmm, it is a possibility the Grimm could be Sith Spawns of Nihilus" Malserik pondered as he returned to look at the wounded Rose, "as a matter of fact that is more likely than not." Malserik's communicator on his wrist chirped, and he dismissed himself from the room, begging his pardon as he left. Alone, Weiss rested her hand on the glass while Ruby rested, and a medical droid buzzed around towards Weiss, his vocabulator blaring at the Heiress of Waldstahl,

"She will be fine, my lady,-" Weiss could immediately tell were this was going and cut the droid off with a harsh,

"I am staying here,"

"Oh, my lady, I was not asking you to leave," The droid spoke, and their voice was surprisingly comforting to the young Sith as the droid continued with "In fact, I brought you a chair." The sight of the chair made Weiss smile as the droid set it up behind Weiss. As the door to enter the Bacta tank room opened. As soon as the door was open voice that Weiss recognized as Pyrrha asked,

"How is Ruby doing?" Pyrrha asked as the pink haired witch approached the tank, her scepter clacking on the ground with each step as she approached. Her voice was somewhat colder though she still held a deep concern for Ruby.

"She's burned up, so she is going to spend some time in the tank," Weiss explained as Pyrrha's red sith eyes shifted to Weiss when she then asked,

"Now the real question, are you alright?" Weiss didn't know what to say to answer this question, considering she could see Pyrrha was gazing directly at her makeshift gauze bandage eye patch. She didn't want to inform Pyrrha of the curse she had just been afflicted with, but on the other hand, she wanted Pyrrha's opinion on the matter. Though, she decided to hold that secret, for the time being, mainly to not give Malserik any further trouble.

"Yeah, I am fine, just coping," Weiss feigned a smile at Pyrrha, who looked at her with a look that said 'if you want to talk to me about anything, I am willing to talk.' But she returned to Ruby as she put her hand on the tank and said, "Either way we are all stronger from this attack than we were before, as a matter of fact, you and Ruby have a different presence in the force now, I don't know what, but there is something." Pyrrha said as the droid that brought Weiss a seat brought Pyrrha one as well. Though as she took a seat the Droid wanted to grumble as the fourth knight of Hiskal entered the room, still covered in dried blood.

"Oh wow, I heard Ruby was hurt but that is something else," Nora gasped slightly shocked to see the pink burned flesh of Ruby as she was suspended in the tank. Though the weirdest thing for her to see was Ruby with her right arm detached.

"Yeah it isn't pretty, even Malserik informed us that it would most likely scar over," Weiss explained to the blood-soaked warrior, before inquiring about Nora's condition, with a quick "are you okay, you look like a mess."

"I am fine, just some minor cuts and bruises, nothing too serious," Nora chirped happily letting her seem like her old self again while Pyrrha and Weiss laughed as minor cuts and bruises, that was an improvement over the numerous broken bones that she was used to. It was at this point Nora noted Weiss's left eye and had to comment,

"Wait, Weiss, you lost your eye?" Nora asked cocking her head at her unsure of what to say on the matter as the now annoyed chair bringing droid. While Weiss gave her quick and simple response of,

"It's complicated," Not really in the mood to explain in intricate detail her curse to Pyrrha and Nora, lest they get curious and provide an even greater headache for Malserik, who was already dealing with her own mistake.

For the next few hours, the girls sat watching Ruby float in the tank before drifting off into a light sleep around the tank.

* * *

Inside the tank, Ruby felt relaxed, The anesthetic was lighter than she thought it would be. She didn't feel anything and she couldn't move but somehow she was still conscious, or at least so she thought. In a few moments, Ruby awoke in what was seemingly a white void. Though as her eyes adjusted to the white void, she saw a dark figure approaching her. With each step, she could hear the raspy mechanical breathing of the man she knew all too well. His black cape flowing over down his back as his distended skull like looked directly at her.

"Once again, you prove that you are weak, Fleurnoire!" Vader burst out, his voice cold and deep with his mask's raspy breaths. Though before he could continue, Ruby snapped back with,

"I am weak?! I almost took down the Grand Master of the Jedi Order!" Her voice echoed in the white void. Her voice was appalled by the accusation. Though with her outburst Vader continued with his booming voice as he towered over Ruby,

"You did no such thing, if she were not wounded, you would have been killed and not floating in this tank, Fleurnoire," Vader explained, his gestures showing his fury and the young Sith. "Then you knew your love was in danger yet you pursued the attack on the Jedi while they retreated." Vader paused his scolding for a second to ask a rhetorical question of Ruby, "Fleurnoire, do you think you are invincible? Know this, for each strength you have somewhere someone will have a counter to it, so rely on your skills and not your Aura, your Semblance, Your Lightsaber, Or even the Force, because without them you would be next to useless you refine yourself, so don't let yourself become arrogant, like you did, think tactically, think strategically, know your weaknesses know your flaws and use them to your advantage, Fleurnoire"

Vader stopped and gestured as two bacta tanks rose out of the white void below inside the one to Vader's left, she could see a man who was severely burned with all four limbs amputated, the wounds on his body were gruesome to look at then she noticed all of the cybernetics in his body, he was more machine than man. Then in the other tank, she saw a female that looked quite similar though the cybernetics looked cruder than the man's.

"My arrogance and hatred turned me into this," Vader gestured to the man in the tank, "and this is what you could become if you are not careful," Vader spoke gesturing to the tank on his right, "Though there are many other alternatives for you, if you let your arrogance stray too far out of check, as that is what I told you back when you mad your first kills as a Sith, keep yourself in check, and you failed to do that, so take your scars as a lesson."

* * *

Outside sitting around the tank, asleep. the three knights were awoken by the sound of glass cracking. Weiss was the first to awaken to the harsh sound, looking around she tried to find the source of the noise, turning to the tank, the heiress saw a spider web of cracks forming on the tank Ruby was immersed within. jumping up Pyrrha and Nora who were awake by this point and followed suit. Standing well enough back, the tank shattered under the weight of the viscous liquid mixture inside.

As the fluid flowed out of the destroyed tank, the three knights could smell the sweet scent of the bacta as they saw Ruby kneeling in the goop of the destroyed tank as the rest of the glass of the tank fell and shattered. Weiss could see the pink flesh of the barely healed burn wounds as could the other Knights. Ripping off the breath mask Ruby gasped and started to cough up some Bacta that had leaked into the mask. It was at this point Weiss ran forward and yelled, though she was quickly followed by the other two knights who yelled the same

"Ruby are you okay!?" Ruby was still coughing when she reached her. The odor of the bacta wafting off of Ruby who stopped coughing and then started spitting the remains of the bacta in her mouth onto the floor, before giving her response of,

"Yeah I am fine," Ruby smiled as she looked up at her lover, and it was at that point it hit Weiss, Ruby's scars wouldn't be healed, her old burns barely registered, even Weiss's had faded to the point of almost being gone, but these burns just by the way they had partially healed, Weiss could tell they were going to take a long time to fade, if they ever did. The way they stuck out on the right side of Ruby's face made the Heiress wonder how Ruby would react to this change in appearance.

Sitting up, Ruby looked at Nora and Pyrrha who were at Weiss's side, as the door behind them hissed open, revealing Viridian standing behind the door, whose face shifted to shock, seeing the tank shattered in the way it was. He could tell just by looking at the shatter pattern and the contained nature of the mess, it was not caused by Ruby doing a force Repulse in the tank, but instead an unseen crack broke the tank.

"Probably the blasts weakened the structure," He muttered trying to reason the destruction as he approached, while Ruby climbed out of the tank, with the assistance of the three other knights. With the situation seemingly more benign than he originally thought he walked up and told the girls to get Ruby back to their quarters and get her cleaned up and to get some rest as Malserik didn't want to risk any more stocks of bacta on tanks that could break open if Kolto or Bacta was filled in them.

When the Knights returned to their combined quarters, Ruby was walking under her own strength as the anesthetic had worked their way out of her system. Reeking of Bacta, Ruby trudged off to the shower, while Weiss, Pyrrha, and Nora waited outside in the living room.

* * *

Inside the bathroom, Ruby, set her prosthetic arm on the sink counter as she caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror. 'Take these scars as a lesson,' Rung in her mind as she saw the right side of her face, she hadn't bothered to look at it at all, not really caring but now it hit her, these marks, on her face would be there for the rest of her life, seared into the flesh of her face. As it looked rough, she was thankful it wasn't as hideous as it could be but it was still very off putting, as the skin around her right eye was pink and ragged with scarred flesh as was the same case on her cheek down to her jaw line. She moved her Jaw just to see if any there were any points of limitation. Despite the damage of the burns she noted that both her right eyebrow was somehow spared and the burns were away from her mouth. Feeling them with her left hand she could feel how the bacta had healed the burns but she knew at this point they wouldn't be healed to the smooth skin she originally had. Looking back in the mirror she saw she looked more like a villain than a hero.

Closing her eyes, the young lady stood in front of the mirror wanting to cry, though there was a part of her mind that just wanted to laugh. Laugh at the absurdity of what she was thinking, Laugh at the fact the thought that she 'didn't look like a hero,' and laugh at that recurring childish dream of her becoming a hero. With that thought in mind, she laughed, unleashing a cackle that sounded more like something that of a wicked witch more her usual laughs. And one thought crossed her mind _Imperious put me through so much worse than this._ Though as she laughed with that thought in mind, tears streamed from her eyes.

With that thought in her mind, Ruby's laughter died down and she glanced at herself one more time in the mirror and had one last thought before stripping down and stepping and into the shower. A thought that was a resounding consequence of the day, and that thought was _n_ _o mercy, no more, that thought alone has held me back too much, I need to change as not everyone can be spared especially those that oppose me or get in my way._ With that thought, Ruby smiled as she had a thought of who she was back on Remnant to which her thought was, _by the force I was gullible and stupid back then._ With that final thought, Ruby began her quick shower, at which point she got to see the full extent of the damage done to her body. Seeing the damage in full, she came to the conclusion that she wanted to conceal it along with the burns on her face as the insecurity of her younger self influenced her to do so.

* * *

Outside, the three knights who were discussing the attack on their home when they heard the laugh coming from the bathroom, which stopped their discussion as Weiss got up and went over to the thin metal door to the bathroom as the fit of laughter subsided and the water started running. She could feel Ruby was dealing with her new scars, she knew Ruby probably would, though she was curious if she would need help to deal with them. though this fit of laughter caused Pyrrha to inquire,

"I wonder what she was laughing at?" Pyrrha pondered as she reclined on the couch with her scepter leaned next to her, as she locked her red eyes at Nora, as she furthered her pondering "as that sounded like a laughing fit Nora would have, no offense Nora,"

"None taken," Nora replied with a smile, and her as she accepted the fact she was much more 'eccentric' than her teammates.

"And that is a cause for concern, one Nora is enough," Weiss grumbled not wanting to dwell upon the mere thought or implication that Ruby could become even remotely like Nora with how she was now. Nora embraced pain, that was her conduit to the dark side, and with the way her body was held together at times, her pain was a near constant but Nora seemingly didn't care one bit. The thought Ruby could become like that was not something Weiss wanted to think about.

"I would have to concur with that, I bet a second Nora would drive Malserik mad," Pyrrha chuckled as Weiss lamented at what Pyrrha said as the other two knights had yet to learn of what transpired between Malserik and Ruby, and frankly Weiss wanted to keep it that way as she walked away from the door holding the necklace that Malserik gave her.

"Yeah, then we would have a third, let the insanity spread," Nora spoke in a mocking and joking manner, though there was an undertone of seriousness to what the lightning rod of a Sith said. It was at this point Pyrrha asked a question that Weiss did not expect nor wanted to answer.

"Weiss, did Malserik have anything interesting in his Archive?" Pyrrha inquired, rapidly changing subject to one that made the hair on Weiss's neck stand on end, as she figured how to respond to Pyrrha's inquiry, though the bathroom door hissed open and Ruby's accented voice responded, with,

"Minus the ash and bodies, just holocrons and artifacts," Ruby smiled as the three knights turned to face her clad in another set of her sleeveless tunic and trousers, she walked over to the couch, Ruby winked at Weiss as she could sense her apprehension. Though Ruby sat at the table as pulled out her tool kit which she used on her prosthetic which still had not been reattached. Slotting it into the stump cap, Ruby started to work, while informing her team about what had transpired in the courtyard, in which she mentioned the name, the name, a name that left a nasty taste in Ruby's mouth just to say aloud, as that cat faunus was a back stabber, and now their enemy.

"So Blake partook in this attack?" Pyrrha asked rhetorically, as Ruby twitched in pain, clenching her organic left hand as she tweaked a nerve wire she was reconnecting, as her face gave grim look as Pyrrha continued with, "This is an interesting development,"

"So are we going break her legs?" Nora smiled, her sulfur eyes wide, glowing brightly with insanity. This line caused Ruby to smirk, but as much as Ruby wanted to say yes, she couldn't say that as there was that part of her mind that said, 'don't give up on Blake yet,' as she realized Blake had fought with anger and vengeance in their duel, which made her think she could break her, so Ruby's reply was that of,

"No, Nora, she was angry and vengeful, I want to see if we could make a Sith out of her," Ruby explained with a smirk as she wanted to burst out in a scream as full synthetic nerve function was restored to her right arm. In response to that her metal hand snapped shut and she grunted like someone who just got stung by a painful insect.

"Oh like you haven't done worse Ruby," Weiss replied to Ruby's grunt, "you modify that thing all the time so don't give us that it hurts that bad," Weiss said as her lover locked the wires in her arm down, finishing up the task of reconnecting her arm, as Pyrrha pondered the thought of what Ruby suggested.

"You think we could even break her?" Pyrrha asked, her voice cold with an air of ponderance, which was also written on her face. As her hand thoughtfully supported her chin as Ruby function checked her hand, moving the fingers in such ways to ensure everything was functional before she responded with,

"I don't know, but I would love to try to bring her to our side," Ruby smiled as she turned to face the Heiress to the ruined fortress and say "Well I am heading off to bed, it has been a long day."

"I think we can all agree to that," Pyrrha smiled, as Ruby opened the door to hers and Weiss's bedroom, the latter of whom walked through the door and threw Ruby something off of her belt, catching it Ruby immediately realized it was a connected De Sang.

"I figured you would want her back," Weiss chuckled, as Ruby disconnected the hilts, and set them on the nightstand on her side of the bed. As Weiss took to her side of the bed taking Mitternacht of the slot on the side of her belt and set it on her nightstand. After which she sat on the bed as she felt the bandages over her left eye laid down and went to sleep next to her burned lover, as they drifted off into sleep.

* * *

In the morning they were woken up by the Twi'lek that Ruby interrogated yesterday, Malserik was requesting that the four knights report to the brig. They dressed in their black Sith robes. They all wore their cloaks just for additional warmth as the main halls of Waldstahl had various holes of various sizes in structure, which let the murky light of a snowy morning shine in along with the frigid air.

After a few minutes and a flight of stairs the knights had made their way to the brig where Malserik was waiting for the knights, he lead them to the observation room overlooking the interrogation room. Once there he said,

"Knights, I have Dornettz and Balikor down there, along with the Jedi, so be careful while conducting your interrogation Understood?"

"Understood," Ruby replied, her voice cold with pent up anger, "May I have assistance, if needed?" Ruby inquired as she didn't want to have to deal in physical or force based torture. Malserik raised his left eyebrow at this question as it was unexpected but alas he responded with

"of course, traitors deserve no mercy" Malserik said as Ruby started to walk with Pyrrha and Nora following, though Weiss kept her feet planted, which Ruby took note of after only taking three steps, turning to face Weiss, She could sense her lover held objections to this. Which was quickly reinforced with what she said in reply to Ruby's gaze,

"Ruby, please handle this without me okay?" Weiss asked with a slightly nervous smile. "Torture is not something I can or want to do," Weiss added in explanation, as the three knights looked at the eye-patched Heiress along with her former Master, who had to speak on the matter.

"Not all Sith agree with the idea of torture, and I can respect Weiss's objection" Viridian said as he took a seat at the table set up in the observation room, "Besides it gives me a chance to redeem myself," Malserik smiled as he pulled out a holographic projector that displayed a chess board.

* * *

After the conversation in the observation room Ruby, Pyrrha, and Nora entered the interrogation room below, while Malserik and Weiss sat in the observation room above the interrogation chamber. After a few moments of silence a loud scream bellowed out from below and it was clear that Ruby was now 'taking care' of the traitors and the Jedi. Weiss could sense the Ruby was enjoying the mental destruction she was unleashing on their minds. This disturbed Weiss but she knew how furious Ruby was and she was focusing on the game of chess she was playing with Malserik, to take her mind off of what was going on below as she didn't approve of what Ruby was doing. Though as she moved castled her king, a thought troubled her, and that thought revolved around what Ruby told her last night about Blake.

"Is something troubling you Weiss?" Malserik asked, concerned as he looked her in her exposed eye, he could tell by the way she had averted her gaze, she was troubled by something, though another scream rang out from the room below as Weiss looked down at Ruby, who had her hand on Dornettz's head while Nora and Pyrrha stood to the side as Ruby did her work. "Weiss you can talk to me," Malserik spoke sounding almost like a concerned father.

"Apparently one of our old teammates was here yesterday, and fought Ruby, trying to kill her," Weiss said as the feelings of betrayal washed over her as her posture slouched. "She was a Jedi,"

"I see," Malserik replied as he looked down to see the progress Ruby was having with the interrogation, he saw both Balikor and Dornettz were incapacitated with drained looks on their faces and now Ruby was moving on to Anderon, the one Malserik knew would give her the most trouble. Judging by the way Pyrrha and Nora were positioned, they could tell that as well. Turning back towards Weiss, he responded with "That is most troubling, that means the order now can confirm all four knights of Hiskal,"

"That is a concern I didn't take into account" Weiss responded as she had full intent on continuing. "It's the fact Blake is our enemy now, she was our friend," Weiss continued somberly her voice getting softer with each word, Turning to look down into the chamber, he saw a sith sword impaling the Jedi's foot to the floor while the pike end of Blodsvard had pierced the other and they pumped the Jedi full of force lightning. While Ruby had her hand on the Jedi's head, seemingly not getting electrocuted by her friends lightning. Despite the horrific nature of the scene he was in Anderon seemed to be holding up well. Turning back to face his former apprentice, Malserik continued the conversation with,

"I understand your pain, Weiss," Malserik smiled lightly, as his communicator on the table chirped signaling Ruby was done and leaving the chamber. Seconds later Ruby walked up flanked by Nora and Pyrrha. Walking in her placed a data disk on the table and spoke.

"I found this hidden in Balakor's affects" Ruby announced triumphantly, before continuing with her report, "They didn't give the Jedi any solid information from the Archive or the order, they wanted to be off planet first," Ruby smiled as she looked at Malserik with her gilded eyes. Malserik's face lit up with a subtle smirk that evolved into a chuckle, then to a full laugh, then to disturbing cackles. He was ecstatic at the news as he took the disk in hand. "On that disk is a large amount of valuable information on the plan and the order's numbers and what your archive contained, they only sent a message that basically said 'a Visorium lives,'" Ruby continued as Malserik asked.

"So the Jedi know nothing minus the Visorium order exists, Ruby?" Malserik spoke his chuckles still present in his voice, as some tears flowed from his exposed eye.

"Correct," Ruby smiled as she said that Malserik crushed the disk in hand with a smile on his face. "But I am not done, I am going to want to do a bit more digging on that Jedi later, bus so far I can compile a list of Republic and Jedi spies in the empire," Ruby reported to Malserik whose eyes went wide along with Weiss's as this news sunk in. "I would just like to verify the information before I give a full report on it, so keep that Jedi alive, I will resume tomorrow, doing 'that' takes a lot out of me." With that Malserik smiled and gave his response

"Excellent work Ruby, as I said I apologize for my actions yesterday," Malserik spoke apologetically, wanting to repair the damage he had done the day prior. Though before Ruby could respond with the smug smirk on her face, a new accented voice joined the conversation.

"Just don't ever do that again, Malserik or I will let Ruby kill you," Imperious said entering the room, interrupting the conversation with a smile, "So how exposed are we Malserik?" the pale blonde Sith asked of Viridian.

"They only know we exist," Malserik said with a smile as Imperious's face had a look of pure relief. "Well the word about the attack is out, Vakor, Lana, Lyeroka, Reveka, and Dyekar, will start spreading the word out to our more fringe elements, the plan will proceed as normal."

"Good, we will need to rebuild Waldstahl in the meantime, also Ruby are we good?" Malserik asked redirecting the conversation, extending his arm for her to shake it.

"I may not trust you fully for a bit, but I think we are good now," Ruby replied truthfully, taking his hand with her metal one and shaking it.

It was at this moment Roman, Neo, and Winter pinged Malserik's communicator, activating it the former criminals reported: "Waldstahl is one hundred percent secure, we have a lot of dead Jedi and Troopers that need to be cleaned up."

"Good work Captain of the Guard Torchwick, Intelligence Chief Frost, and Chief of Security Schnee" Malserik spoke congratulating them whilst simultaneously anointing them with their new titles. They had officially replaced Balikor and Dornettz while Winter had gotten an entirely new position. Their faces were shocked at the titles they were given, as they didn't know fully what had happened in regards to the betrayal. "I expect a full debriefing in my office in an hour." all three of them saluted with a bold, "Yes, My lord!" With that, it could be considered over, the battle of Waldstahl was over and the Visorium order was victorious.

* * *

While the turmoil in the galaxy picked up, on Remnant a dark female figure overlooked a red crystal field from the ruins of her old academy brought to Remnant by destruction. The stone like claw where three would meet, though only one stood now as the other two had fallen long ago, and many thought the third had also fallen. This figure was shrouded by the darkness though the dim red light of the circle in the center and the light of the environment. This figure stood her paper like deathly white skin covered in dark marks and veins.

"The time draws near, my return will soon be at hand and I will have my revenge Surik, or shall I say Summer Rose," This figure spoke with a malevolent tone, "My sight restored, my body rejuvenated, thanks to my former apprentices work." this figure felt the grim tethered to her soul, she thanked her apprentice for these spawns of the darkness. She wanted to unleash hell with these creations of darkness. With her renewed body came a new blood lust even an urge to wield a saber in combat, killing with her hands rather than the force. her abilities in the force enhanced with each creature tethered to her will this woman looked out over the red crystal field feeling the nexus of dark side power as the shards of Malachor V resonated in the ground beneath her. The woman smiled as she looked out with her eyes that were surrounded with black veins and a black sclera showing her glowing red iris's very prominently. She had power over most of Remnant as it stood at the moment as her apprentices had infiltrated various positions of power in the chaos filled the world that was Remnant

"Surik, I will have my vengeance and I will see that I gain control of that empire that Fool Vitiate formed and then I will destroy you like you did my apprentices and my academy!" The woman spoke the Grimm wandering the crystal field below perking up at the malice in her voice. "I Traya. No, I Darth Salem promise this. No, I swear on this! My Grimm will infest every corner of the galaxy and Summer you will watch it burn with me." Salem laughed as the time drew closer for her to act.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that chapter was a pain to write with exams and writer's block I had been dealing with. So I hope everyone like the new chapter and what it revealed, I really don't have much to say other than that sadly. The only thing I really have to say is, five more chapters than the Rewrite will be over further info in Chapter 1. With all of that in mind, I am going to carry on to the review responses.**

 **hornofdesolation: Thank You!**

 **Now with all of that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	36. Chapter 36: Another Mission

****A/N: Well here it is Chapter 36: Another Mission!****

* * *

 ** **Chapter 36: Another Mission****

* * *

Barely a week had passed since the attack on Waldstahl at the hands of the treacherous Republic. The ruins of the once proud structure had been demolished to the foundation though leaving the lower levels such as the hanger and the archive intact. This was necessary as Malserik wanted this fortress to be even bigger and grander than before. Malserik was having a competition to redesign Waldstahl, and numerous architects and designers from around Drommund Kaas were applying for the high-class Hiskal residency that was the prize for the winning design. Though, Malserik himself was already drawing up plans for new better Waldstahl's defenses and other potential internal details for his new fortress.

Looking out towards Hiskal, Malserik sighed, He loved his city and they loved him, he would have to explain what happened eventually to them, as a matter of fact, he had scheduled to speak to them soon as they deserved to know the state of Waldstahl. Looking back he saw the scraps and ruins of his old home. He clenched the grip of Sturmkrieg for what he was going to do. Just as he turned around to face toward this ruined fortress, the door it slid open.

Walking out on to the overlook was the four knights of Hiskal all clad in their cloaks with Anderon Alik-zander. The once proud Jedi healer was broken and chained, his mind frayed from Ruby, Nora, and Pyrrha's methods of interrogation. Ruby had aggressively mined him for information over the past week, While Pyrrha used her mind corruption to weaken his resolve. They were both unleashing their anger and hatred on the captive Jedi. Their techniques netted a massive load of information about the Jedi and how they operated. Though the information they were interested in was those of spies and other forms of espionage. While ripping through his subconscious, Ruby found the location of various republic spies on Drommund Kaas and Korriban something that at the time made her smile wickedly.

This painful and invasive technique Ruby, Nora, and Pyrrha employed destroyed the Jedi Master's mind to a form of psychosis. He was shaking and babbling on about the Sith being 'Heathens that need to die.' The look of insanity on his face would scare even the most hardened and veteran Sith if he was free. Pyrrha and Nora buckled his knees from behind with a sharp kick as Ruby and Weiss grabbed his shoulders and slammed him down to make the deranged Jedi kneel before the Baron of Hiskal. Backing off to the side, Ruby and her team Ignited their sabers in case the Jedi got any funny ideas. Malserik kneeled down to the Jedi with SturmKrieg in hand.

"Anderon, say hello to your master for me," Malserik said with a smirk as he stood back up to a volley of curses and swearing coming from the Jedi. Malserik found himself wanting to put the insane Jedi out of his misery. With this in mind, he ignited his sabers green blade and quickly decapitated the madman. There was a part of Malserik that felt sad about having to do this, as the former padawan of the man who killed his family was now dead. Though, he didn't focus on this for long as there was business for him to attend to, mainly concerning one thing that Malserik asked about, promptly after the body fell limp.

"Ruby, your report?" Malserik asked after a moment after the headless Jedi fell limp on the ground.

"I put it on your desk, it's quite a nice chunk of information, For a healer, he sure knew a lot," Ruby replied with a smirk beneath her hood towards the burned side of her face, as she disengaged her lightsaber, she was still quite shocked at how much he knew, and the fact the Jedi didn't seemingly care about operational security.

"Good work, you four I will look over the information you gained, Now please Ruby go take a break, you need it," Malserik said as Ruby had pushed herself hard in the interrogations of the Jedi as it took her a few days just to break down all of the mental barriers the Jedi possessed. Malserik and Weiss over watched the process. it was horrifying as Ruby had to have Pyrrha assist in breaking him mentally, while Nora committed to the physical torture. With all three of them attacking from different fronts, it shattered the Jedi.

After the break Ruby endured after the night of the battle for Waldstahl, Weiss had expressed concerns dealing with Ruby handling the interrogations, as Ruby had directed all of her anger and hatred into that one task. Weiss didn't even see a glimmer of mercy in Ruby's heart as she took on the task. Though, she managed to break the Jedi quite quickly, enough so Ruby even shocked Imperious with how she broke the Jedi to her own will. Though after the fact Imperious seemed more proud afterward than anything.

"Alright Malserik," Ruby said nonchalantly as she walked back into what remained of Waldstahl followed by Weiss. As Nora and Pyrrha started to follow Malserik called back to them.

"Pyrrha, Nora, hold for a second, I have a mission for you two," Malserik said getting the two knights to look back at him, "There is a potential threat to the order's security that must be dealt with," The two looked at each other, then looked back at Malserik with a smile, giving him a wordless response "Good, Imperious and I will brief you and you will be on your way Nar Shaddaa," Malserik smiled as he wanted to get the two less well known of the two knights something to do, along with that, he also wanted to see how they operated independently of Ruby and Weiss, and so did Imperious.

* * *

Inside, after dismissing Pyrrha and Nora to get their things together Malserik was back in his office. He was smirking as he read Ruby's report, it turned out the healer knew a lot more than what he was supposed to. As Malserik cross-referenced the information to Imperial records and known leaked files. As he began to piece it all together he started to chuckle, though the more matching names he saw the more he laughed and laughed, going till he was in a deep maniacal cackle. In his mind, Malserik thought __by the force this is perfect, I could eliminate so many infiltrators with this list. maybe I could stab the Jedi again while I am at it!__ Malserik was thinking of how he could deal another blow of vengeance to the Jedi for an attack on his home. Due to his belting laughter along with his thoughts, Malserik failed to note the door to his study open.

Imperious walked in on this sight, she saw Malserik bent over clutching his gut as he laughed like a mad man. Though he did not react to the door opening which made Imperious notice that he was unaware of her presence, she got a very playful idea. Imperious had become somewhat distant after the attack though this gave her, even more of a reason to do this. Slipping behind him with a wide grin on her face she waited on him to calm down and compose himself. As he calmed down, she was right behind him. Wrapping her arms around him from behind she asked,

"So Viridian, what's so funny?"

Malserik jumped at the contact from Imperious as a chill ran up his spine and his heart stuttered. His voice quaked in his reply, "Not much, this report, it's perfect for our cause, also how long have you been here?"

"Not long, good to hear you laugh like that, though. It's much more appealing than your dull chuckles," Imperious said with a genuine smile. She was happy to hear Malserik enjoying himself in such a way. She continued to rest on the seated Viridian. "So what did the order's red gem find?" Imperious asked playfully.

"Enough Republic agents and spies that could really clean out the empire," Malserik said with a big grin, that could make Neo look sane, as he tapped his finger on the desk nervously before he asked, "Also I would like your approval on an idea I had."

"Oh, I am going to love this!" Imperious smiled brightly leaning further on her friend to listen with a smile, as when Malserik had an idea, they usually were good ones, and whenever he said that phrase, She was reminded of all the fun things that happened because he said that phrase during her rise to power.

"We request a that the Jedi pay us to keep quiet, I find it fair after their attack on our home," Malserik said with a malicious grin. This suggestion was one Imperious liked a lot, as it showed he was willing to take advantage of the Jedi for their actions and extort them. This made Imperious smile with delight as she responded,

"you really want to piss them off," Imperious smirked, she knew that Malserik loved tormenting the Jedi, ensuring his title as arch traitor stayed true "I think that is a great idea though how would they pay us? Credits are useless to us." Imperious inquired, curious as to how the Jedi would pay them. Malserik looked at her with a look that said 'I know that the Jedi have other things to pay us with you know?' it was at that moment it hit her, resources and holocrons, "you wicked bastard," Imperious muttered in that realization as her face showed faint blush. Though she had seen Malserik like this once before and that was when he volunteered to go to Coruscant to partake in the sacking. The look in his eye matched that day. He wanted to remind the Jedi he was still there, waiting to put the metaphoric lightsaber to their throats and watch them squirm.

"Glad to see you approve," Malserik said calmly, "Now my next question is on this information on the spies should I hand it over?"

"Yes, that would put you in a good position with the Dark Council and finally convince them of your loyalty to the Empire. After you submit the information I want you to wait to hear back on the reports." Imperious explained calmly as Malserik took mental notes of her orders. "Then once all of these spies have been eliminated I want you to submit your equipment to Imperial trials. Then you go on harass the Jedi, got it?" Malserik smiled as he finally had gotten the designs working with some assistance from Ruby and Weiss.

"Noted, so about that conversation we had a while back, I think bringing Khem into this would be a bad idea, especially as a potential counter to Ruby. I do truly believe that it was my actions that caused that issue and that it won't happen again," Malserik explained calmly, the look on his face made it known that this issue had dragged on the former Jedi greatly. "If she betrayed us I feel not even Khem could stop her. I know I damn well couldn't, not easily." He admitted as the one terrifying thought was that of if Ruby went the entire group of them would go.

"Malserik about that prophecy that told you about them, you don't think it meant they will kill us and take our place?" Imperious asked concerned, pondering a very disturbing notion, and Malserik could tell she was very worried about this, "I don't want to end up like those Sith in my visions. They were artists of a grand plan but they always got betrayed by their apprentices. I want to live to see my plan through, Viridian."

"Well I don't know what to say Ceres, except to talk to Ruby maybe," Malserik replied he was genuinely unsure of what to say to calm her, "Though we can discuss this later we need to brief Nora and Pyrrha for that mission. Then you can help me write that speech for the people of Hiskal," Viridian smiled at the pale, blue eyed woman. Who by this point had moved off of his shoulders and was looking out the window into the City of Hiskal.

* * *

It was at this moment, she slipped away into a vision of what could be, she saw a massive central spire-like palace connected to smaller spires throughout the city, the architecture was Gothic in nature, a type of architecture Ruby herself quite enjoyed. she saw the entire city was remodeled like this, black and gold buildings with red flowing banners flying on the struts. She saw the city extended up the slope of the valley. golden light pouring up from the streets. Imperious gasped at the sight of this on the crater-like valley she saw more fortresses like Waldstahl though with larger guns and a Gothic spire towering over the structure with a long bridge connected to the central spire of the city. The city was a sight to behold in its majesty. As her perspective elevated she saw Hiskal had grown and the city spanned the entirety of the Hiskal region. Saw more sprawling cities like Hiskal in the area around it. she saw figured with the amount growth that had occurred, in one hundred years Drommund Kaas would be like Coruscant. It was beautiful she didn't want to look away from it. Though realizing she was looking out a window of a low-flying starship made her look away. Behind her, she heard Ruby's voice say,

"This is what trust can build."

Turning around she saw all the members of the Visorium order along with the Knights and some sith she didn't recognize, with a long mane of hair. It was at this point, her vision faded to black.

* * *

Though like all of the visions she had received in her life there was always an another to them, blinking her eyes she saw a sight that horrified her. The city was leveled, skeletons and bones dotting the rubble and ruins. Ash coating the crater as the snow fell. Looking around, she saw a black-cloaked figure at the center kneeling before something. As her vision and hearing focused on this figure she could hear sobbing and she could see a shallow grave in the center in the ash. The person's clothes were torn. The cloak shredded, Imperious found herself walking towards this figure, as she stepped forward the sobbing stopped and the figure turned to face her. Under the cloak, she could see two glowing blue irises surrounded by black sclera and a bone white face.

"Oh it's you, this is all your fault!" The figure spoke, her voice in pain and sorrow as it escalated to a yell as she drew a black crossguard lightsaber hilt and ignited it with an unstable blue blade. "You did this, you killed everyone! I will end you, then I can return to my love!" as the figure sliced at her neck she saw the face what she thought was Weiss at a glance, but as the blade began its cut she saw it was Ruby. With that, the vision came to a traumatic end.

* * *

Malserik had caught Imperious as she fell into a vision. It was one problem with her, if she fell into vision, she went unconscious, almost appearing dead as her breathing slowed along with her heart rate. Over the course of her time living at Waldstahl, Ruby grew used to her going into her vision state, though the first time was always a major shock to who witnessed it. Though this was her curse for being a Visorium, she couldn't see the future while conscious. To Malserik Visorium force users were an interesting topic, they all could see glimpses of what is to come by themselves, but if enough gathered together, the force would reveal onto them, the ability to knowledge on how to manipulate the future.

While he was sitting on the ground with Ceres, Malserik had rested her on the floor. For a while she looked peaceful, her pale face a had small content smile on her lips. Though half way through her face reflected that of a nightmare. Ceres always received two visions, usually one good, the other more traumatic. Seeing her enter a vision state like this always concerned Malserik as he wanted to know what she saw.

When Ceres awoke, she was gasping for air as she returned to life. "Are you okay?" Viridian asked calmly as he helped her to sit up. He knew she was probably physically alright, though he knew her visions had traumatic tendencies.

"Viridian, I am fine" Imperious spoke quickly, "ask for answers, and you shall receive." Imperious blurted out quickly, her lips quickly forming a light smile.

"Answers for what?" Malserik asked, unsure of what the pale Darth meant.

"The Ruby situation, I am going to trust her, got it Malserik," Ceres spoke softly, as if her trusting Ruby created an empire like that, what did she have to fear from her? "Alright let's get Nora and Pyrrha briefed and on their way Viridian, then I can help you with that speech. After that we should have dinner," the blonde Smiled

"Alright Ceres," Malserik smiled as he helped her to her feet, "Let's get them on their way to Nar Shaddaa, just let me get this packet of info off to Imperial Intelligence."

* * *

As Malserik walked over to the terminal, he sent the data packet to Imperial Intelligence as Ceres took out something Malserik had given her, one of the first scrolls produced in the Sith Empire. Using the new device she pinged off messages to Pyrrha, Nora, and Winter's scrolls telling them 'It was time,'

After a few moments, the two Knights enter the room followed by the newly appointed chief of security. As they entered Malserik brought up a holographic display behind him. What it displayed reminded the three Remnants of a slide show slide. On the slide the saw an image of what looked like a morbidly obese slug. To the trio, this creature was quite repulsive and hideous.

At which point Malserik stood up and said "This is Hinjac the Hutt," His voice sounded like it contained a large amount of disgust. "He controls the the Aleron District on Nar Shaddaa, I have dealt with this particular s _lug_ on a few occasions, though this time he found an artifact that could be vital to the Visorium order," Malserik explained, his voice hinting at the fact, he had a very colorful opinion of Hinjac.

"Before Malserik gets to carried away, we have received word from one of our contacts that, Hinjac has set up a deal with the Jedi to sell them this artifact, and if it is the one I think it is. We cannot let them have it." After this point was made perfectly clear, Malserik and Imperious continued with their briefing of the knights on their mission, giving them maps, and intelligence on what they could face once planetside.

* * *

After being briefed, Nora, Pyrrha, and Winter gathered their things and were on their way to Nar Shaddaa aboard the Whispering Spectre. Pyrrha and Nora were excited that they were going to another world, an alien world, a world covered in a crime-ridden city instead if barren deserts. The Smuggler's Moon they were told it was called, was the definition of a hive of scum and villainy, and their caution could be the difference between life and death. As part of this caution, Pyrrha and Nora were told not to wear their cloaks or standard equipment mainly for fear of association with Hiskal.

Going over their equipment, Pyrrha was wearing a sleeveless light gray tunic and pants that almost made her look like a Jedi minus her retrosaber on her belt with the Scepter of Ragnos on her back. While, on the other hand, Nora wore a heavy dark gray trench coat along with her old brown leather sand people bandoleer with her saber suspended from the bandoleer. Winter was in her combat gear despite the fact she wouldn't be touching down, instead, she would be flying the Whispering Spectre for this operation. Their appearance was not going to be masked like they did for the 'Pride of Alderaan' as Nar Shaddaa was a neutral world, and both Republic and Imperial forces were on the planet. Though, unlike the 'Pride of Alderaan,' this was to be a direct assault, no disguises or infiltration, just violence.

The goal of this operation was to retrieve an artifact that had fallen into a Hutt gangster's hands. Along with this, the Hutt gangster had three very dangerous people serving them two were reported force sensitives. Which was most concerning to find force sensitives outside of the Sith or Jedi. Though according to the rumors they could be Remnants, so Viridian and Ceres told them to kill if needed and recruit if possible, And their orders pertaining to the Hutt were, to kill if possible. Though that was an order strictly given by Malserik himself, Imperious did not seem to care that much if the Hutt survived or not.

* * *

While Pyrrha and Nora were preparing to leave Ruby and Weiss were training out in the courtyard, practicing with their augmented force and aura based abilities. Before the attack on Hiskal their Aura and the Force were seemingly separate entities that they could use together, now it was combined their Aura fed their force abilities while their semblance and aura were augmented by the power of the Dark Side of the Force. They had been practicing with these abilities for the past week since they had unlocked them, in the battle for Waldstahl.

In that week Ruby and Weiss had developed some new techniques mainly revolving around what Ruby called a saber petal storm. Practicing with this both Weiss and Ruby targeted a droid that was marked to be scrapped and decommissioned. Both of them focused their semblances into their saber as they moved them in a circle in front of them Weiss's blade flaming blue with the addition of fire dust. While Ruby's blade hummed with power. As the duo moved their blades along the track of a forming glyph, filling the said glyph with glowing petals of red and blue respectively.

Once they complete the formation of the glyph they shot out the petals using the glyph infused with the force. The Swarm of blue and red petals morphed into bright lines that decimated the droid, as the petals carved it up like a shotgun blast. This droid was not the only droid to suffer that fate as a small pile had been accumulating on the side of the courtyard. Though after the droid fell Weiss's covered left eye twinged with pain.

She was still adjusting to her eye, her depth perception was wrecked due to her not being able to use her left eye. Covering the patch with her hand Weiss wondered, _Is this what Malserik deals with? Does he get pains like this?_ Weiss asked herself, she saw how disgusting the eye looked with the burning orange Iris and the blood red sclera, and then the dark side corruption around her eye, it looked hideous. Ruby looked over to see Weiss holding her eye patch. She knew that Weiss and Malserik shared the same curse but seeing what it had done to Weiss over the past week made Ruby empathize with Malserik, as she could now understand his struggle with keeping his eye hidden, as Weiss had to do the same.

"Hey Weiss, get some rest if your eye is bugging you," Ruby suggested in a tender and soothing tone to a distraught and in pain Weiss as she walked over to her lover and rested her hands on her shoulders to let Weiss know she was there for her along with she could feel her pain. Weiss looked up into Ruby's gilded eyes that were shaded by her peaked hood. Her one exposed eye locking with Ruby's left. She had seen Ruby's burns, but it seemed like she was hiding them to the heiress as she responded with,

"Yeah I think that may not be a bad idea," Weiss admitted, as her eye had really started to get annoyingly painful, as the longer it was covered, the more it started to hurt. Though as she clicked her lightsaber onto her belt Weiss suggested a topic for the next days training if they were up for it. As they had neglected to try since they were on Remnant and something that Weiss apparently did when Malserik attacked her.

"Tomorrow, let's attempt summoning again," Weiss suggested, as they had put off the training long enough, she thought, as she clamped down on her eye as she walked toward the entrance to the ruined structure. While Ruby decided to stay outside in the cold while Weiss retired inside to take a shower and relax with her eye uncovered, while Ruby continued training.

* * *

While she walked back into the fortress's ruins, Weiss pondered, _is Ruby really that ashamed of those burns, I mean she didn't seem to care that much before?_ She hoped that wasn't the case as Weiss quite liked how confident Ruby was nowadays, and something like those burns seemed quite trivial to who Ruby had become. Though after that night Ruby wore her cloak with the hood up constantly, to the point of which Imperious, who was still getting used to the scroll she had sent Weiss a message of concern to her about Ruby hiding her burns, to which she responded 'I hope she isn't', as she truly hoped that was not the case, Weiss just figured that Ruby would just need time to adapt to her new appearance as she need to adapted to her cursed eye. Though, ever since the laughing fit Ruby had in the bathroom, as she felt both pain and despair mixed with an odd sense of Joy. And this feeling continued into the interrogation, where Weiss couldn't help but be concerned for her lover. As she worried that she could become like all those other Sith.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah set up for the events that will take place on Nar Shaddaa, a planet I quite like in the lore of Star Wars. I didn't really change that much this chapter minus adding the Ruby and Weiss training section along with a few other additions here and there. With that in mind, I really don't have much to say, once again minus I am having fun writing this! Also, we are seemingly on track for the 200k milestone! With that out of the way, Review responses.**

 **hornofdesolation: Thank you once again!**

 **ToxicGentleman: I am deeply flattered, I quite liked how that scene came out myself, and the Weiss sensing Ruby's laughing I fixed in this chapter. As for Darth Vader, he is a very tragic character, and that is one thing I do like about writing him at times is I don't see him being a brutal sith at all times, I can see him actually wanting to help someone, like in this case, Ruby.**

 **(ctrl+C then ctrl+V) Now, with that out of the way, feel free to ask any questions if you have them, or give suggestions or corrections once again if you have any please give them or leave a review. Alright everyone, be safe, have fun, and may the force be with you!**

 ** **Blitzing Raptor****


	37. Chapter 37: Things are Afoot

**A/N: Update: I have done some minor edits chapters 35 brought on by the review left by ToxicGentleman as I felt one scene could use a bit of explanation, so please take a look at it if you can, please. But yup, another so soon, I have till Wednesday till the new computer arrives at which point I am going to be playing various games, aside from that here we are with Chapter 37: Things are Afoot!**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Things are Afoot**

* * *

En route to Nar Shaddaa, aboard the Whispering Specter, Pyrrha could be found steeling herself, preparing herself for the crime-ridden streets of Nar Shaddaa, meditating in the quarters with her saber and scepter laid in front of her in a quickly chalked up runed circle in front of her with a records tome. Her muscle were relaxed with her skin, as her long faded pink hair was left loose as she meditated. Though her meditative state was broken by an interrupting voice. It was one that she remembered from long ago,

"I am impressed that your group has not turned on each other, it is rare to see Sith working as well together as you do," a deep voice spoke as Pyrrha opened her sithly red eyes. She saw the man she saw from her vision so long ago. Clad in his insectoid armor, he stood proudly over the tomb witch.

"Bane maybe you should learn a thing or two from what an allied group of Sith, rather than try and force feed me your doctrine of how there can only be two Sith," Pyrrha replied in a quip at the idiocy of the 'Rule of Two' Bane preached. "That ideology will doom the Sith, Bane," Pyrrha smiled as she remembered the lengthy debates that happened in the tombs when bane originally tried to put her in the mindset of the Rule of two, which didn't appeal to the young Sith.

"The rule of two brought down the Jedi," Bane spoke, referring to the events beyond of his time, though Pyrrha was unimpressed by this idea, as the elimination of the Jedi could be done at any time, and it couldn't be done with only two Sith in her mind.

"I frankly don't find that feasible, Bane," Pyrrha spoke back, she didn't find that possible at least with how ready for war the Jedi were, it made the idea quite difficult to comprehend how only two sith could destroy the Jedi, "We are strong as it stand why limit ourselves to two? As it stands we can smash the Jedi,"

"Perhaps, though my main purpose here is to inform you your final trial is coming, then you can truly call yourself a Sith and a Darth," Bane spoke before fading away. As Pyrrha closed her red eyes with a shrug and returned to her mind to its focused clarity, she focused her anger and hatred of the idea of the "Rule of Two" to focus on her meditation.

* * *

In the main hold of the Whispering Specter, Nora was dancing along to some music, spinning and twirling with her saber fully deployed though not ignited. Though her dancing quickly morphed into mock combat against enemies she imagined. Her saber was a weapon unignited as much as ignited with its force pike and spike on either end, almost like a Gaffi stick. She smiled wickedly mumbling about how she would 'treat' anyone who got in her way on Nar Shaddaa. She was bubbling with an insane joy as she swung the weapon around, maneuvering it with joy as it wooshed through the air.

Pretending to slam the long pike into enemies, she smiled as she began to pump force lightning into her arms increasing her strength and speed, though her maneuvers were stopped by an interrupting voice that spoke out trying to get her attention with a,

"Svarttrost, Ahem," a deep voice coughed, sitting on the couch in the hold like would a throne.

Nora quickly turned to face him "Oh! 'Crabby Man'," Nora said retracting the hilt of her saber as she acknowledged the man from her visions known as Darth Krayt. The chitin-clad Sith just sighed at his nickname, as Nora was very childish and extremely insane at times when dealing with him.

"I can see why your friends worry about you, though the union you share with them is special, a true One Sith better than that fool, Bane's Rule of two that your friend has to endure the preaching of," Krayt spoke, with disgust in his voice as Bane was a sore point of contention for Krayt, as what he said next was a truth. "His 'Rule of Two' almost destroyed us,"

"So should I break Bane's legs?" Nora asked in a snap with a very excited tone. Her face gave a psychotic look that only few Sith could not be terrified of,

"No, he is not the one you will face Svarttrost," Krayt responded with a smile under his black chitin like mask, "your trials are soon then you will be true Sith," Nora replied to this statement with a whimsical look that gave way to a shrug as the figure of Krayt retracted back into the force. Nora thought __well that was a thing,__ and she continued with her dance of death against her imaginary foe.

* * *

After Weiss had retired back to their quarters, Ruby had decided to stay out in the cold Hiskalan mountain air, practicing, focusing her emotions holding her hand to her chest, she used her aura and connections to the forces to build up a charge in her left hand. Ruby struck out with the bolt of red force lightning at another test dummy droid. Upon connection with the grounded training droid. The gilded eyes, burned as the Sith sneered wickedly as she felt the power of the dark side coursing through her body and Aura. The dummy droid could barely withstand the torrent of red lightning. Relenting her attack Ruby smiled as she saw the scorched dummy droid and said,

"Well I may never beat Weiss when it comes lightning, but damn that is still fun," Ruby spoke with a big smile, on her burned face, "and by the force, it feels good to do that!" Ruby sighed as she dealt with some pent up anger from the prior week's events.

"It is good to see you have embraced the power of the dark side, that is good, considering the quivering weak child you once were, though I still worry you may take it too far, and lose your way, again," The deep raspy voice that Ruby knew so well spoke to her from behind, as she felt the chills up her spine and the cold presence behind her.

"I am working on keeping control, but I have come a long way from a week ago, Vader," Ruby chuckled as she turned to face the towering figure as she removed the gauntlet on her right hand to show Vader the arm he gave her so long ago, "I have adapted to everything you have given me, even your arm has become my own over time," She smiled at Vader showing the red plates and the adjustments that she made to accommodate her growing body. "And I have adapted to those nasty burns you insisted on me keeping," Ruby continued with a hint of disgust in her voice that grew with each word she spoke as her voice had a light nerve to it as what she said was a lie.

"Have you?" Vader retorted, pushing back against the hooded Sith,"you hide your face beneath that hood, could you be ashamed of it? Not wanting to show your face, not wanting to fully accept who you are!" Vader accused, his voice rising in tone before the ending crescendo. Which sparked a violent retaliation from Ruby. Who blasted the Darth with a massive force wave, though he was unaffected, which only served to further anger, Ruby. Who followed the attack up with a strike with De Sang and force lightning. Both of which the figured dodged, with a quick strafe. Ruby quickly adjusted her angle of attack though Vader parried it while saying as both of their bodies locked, though Ruby's hood was blown back by a rogue gust of cold mountain wind.

"Most Impressive, Fleurnoire, your strength in the darkside is most impressive, you do not know it yet but your strength is far from fully matured, I pray that you can control it and not forget about why you fight," the vision of Vader spoke with a gesture as an image of Weiss flashed in Ruby's eyes before the dark lord continued with, "on that note, your trials will be soon Fleurnoire, prepare for them, as it will not be easy," Vader continued as his voice was punctuated by the raspy breathing of his suit.

"Well then, I will look forward to it," Ruby growled as she could imagining she was going to fight the man known as Darth Vader. With her body released she put her hood up as she tugged the black synth leather gauntlet back over her metal hand, and clipped the half of De Sang on to her Harness as she looked up to see another crack of lightning in the force storm above as a dark bird flew overhead almost as if it was watching the preceding below. She stomped her onto the frosted Duracrete with an angered huff as she retreated back inside of the ruined fortress.

* * *

Weiss was inside taking a shower, she had finished her training regiment for that day and she just felt dirty after the execution of the Jedi. She always enjoyed a warm shower after such events. Though, she knew in the coming weeks the Balikor and Dornettz would face execution, a public execution. Weiss didn't really like the idea but what they did was unforgivable.

Weiss sighed as she walked out of the shower wrapping, taking a second towel to dry her hair. Once her hair was dry she went over to the mirror, a habit she did every time she took a shower, it was to see if she could still look herself in the eye, or had she done something so detestable she couldn't look her reflection in the eye. Like all times prior minus when she still in Malserik's training, she could look her reflection in the eyes. She was still adjusting to morphed and detestable right eye, though, Weiss thought, __like the streak of red and black hair, I will get used to it__ _._ She thought as she affixed the eye patch to her right eye then masked the eye patch with the bangs of her hair. Being influenced by Ruby she had thought of growing her hair back out to its full length for a ponytail. She did like how Ruby looked with the low over the shoulder ponytail Imperious recommended. Though with the way Ruby was acting, her concern for her lover peaked once again as she felt the bond between them, She felt anger and hatred, which was odd, as she felt Ruby was fighting something.

Though she could tell she wasn't in any mortal danger, as well, which was a good sign, as she probably just ramped up the settings on a training droid. She shook her head as she worried for Ruby, she always had second thoughts at times with how far they went as Sith. She was worrying that Ruby may have gone too far. She knew she was going to have to talk to her at some point. Though as she was going to take the towel off and change into her relax wear, a voice spoke out from behind her, causing her to almost slam into the ceiling.

"Ah Glatteis," a voice the made Weiss's hair stand on end as she ripped her saber from the belt on the wall hook with the force, swiftly igniting it as she used her right hand to secure the towel.

"Exar Kun!? What the hell do you want?!" Weiss said keeping the blade in line with the force entity. She was almost half tempted to throw a loud ' you pervert' on the end of her question, though she decided against it because She figured Exar wouldn't care about such a thing.

"I merely came to inform you that your trials will be soon," Exar stated bluntly, his face bearing a low smile as he said the next "I though I am glad to see you keep your weapon within reach at all times." Exar smiled as he faded away. Causing Weiss to disengage Mitternacht and relaxed as she pulled out her relax wear tunic and pants. __Well this just got interesting,__ Weiss thought as she snapped her belt on and walked out of the bathroom and sat on the couch, she relaxed there for a few minutes just lounging in her black relax wear. Though before she got too comfortable, there was a ring of their doorbell at which point Weiss just replied with,

"Enter," her voice cold and disinterested as it wasn't Ruby, who was seemingly caught up with something, which was even more concerning to Weiss. The door hissed open and revealed Malserik who walked in with a faint smile as he began to speak.

"Weiss, can I bother you for a moment?" Malserik inquired not wanting to annoy his former apprentice if he didn't have to as he was informed by some of the staff she was having problems with her eye. Along with that, he had a small gift for her.

"I am not doing anything at the moment," Weiss replied almost perking up as she relaxed as Malserik came and sat down on the couch, diagonal from her. He pulled out a small box from his pocket and set it on the coffee table. After setting it down he said,

"That is for you, it should make your eye a bit more tolerable to deal with," He smiled, as Weiss picked up the box, quickly opening it. Inside was a new black eye patch, it was much larger than her covering a portion of the left side her face rather than just the eye, and it looked like the one Malserik wore, as she picked it up she could feel the force that was imbued into the item. It was secured by two small snaps if the situation needed it. "It should help with the pain, but that's beside the point, I would like to ask you to proofread a speech to the people of Hiskal, and rehearse a part of it as I would like to announce you officially as the heiress to Waldstahl."

Weiss was shocked by that order, Malserik was trying to keep quiet on her being his heiress ever since the party, though the Rumors had been circulating, though Malserik hadn't told the people anything official.

"I can do that," Weiss replied, slightly shocked at the fact that Malserik was going be public about her being his successor. Though just a Malserik was about to change topic the door to the room opened again, this time it was the black and red cloak of Ruby that entered, who darted over to the seat next to Weiss as she asked,

"What is going on?" Her voice rang with concern from beneath her hood, so Malserik and Weiss explained the situation of the upcoming speech. After Malserik left, Ruby asked Weiss about if she had received word of the upcoming trials. Which was something Ruby seemed quite angered at the idea of.

* * *

While the Knights were informed on their trials, Ozpin, Raven, and Taiyang had arrived on the Smuggler's Moon in their modified thunderclap. Though while they were en route there, Ozpin was briefed about how Taiyang and Raven were working for Revan. uniting his followers under a single banner then sending them to the Star Forge. Raven herself wore an outfit like Revan's as she was trained by him in the way of the force and lightsaber combat, something Ozpin had only basic knowledge in. Ozpin was shocked to here how expansive the galaxy was. Taiyang during his time as a smuggler knew the planet of Nar Shaddaa quite well and he still knew a good landing place near the Hutt Gangster they were looking to investigate was.

They heard these remnants were under his employ as bounty hunters. That was as much as they knew, and they couldn't immediately get an audience with the Hutt, as he only let those in who earned his attention or could get in on the words of others.

With this in mind, after putting down on the landing pad the trio got to work, Ozpin stuck with Taiyang as in the blonde smuggler's words 'this planet will kill you quickly if you are not careful,' he spoke from experience, as during his time as a smuggler he had been to this moon on numerous occasions. they went to the nearest local cantina, while Raven faded into the shadows. They were convinced this was going to take some time to locate the Remnants that Revan said resided on this treacherous world.

* * *

After two weeks had passed since the execution of Anderon, and Ozpin's arrival on Nar Shaddaa. During this time events had been unfolding with the Dark council, on Korriban sitting in the Sphere of Defense, Darth Marr was concerned as a figure had returned. Darth Jadus had returned a few weeks ago to claim his chair in the sphere of intelligence after the Eagle Plot and his journey into uncharted space. Taking up the head of Imperial Intelligence once more. His return was concerning as it was so sudden and had put the council on its toes after the things he had done. Even with this Jadus had requested an audience with him.

Jadus entered his sphere all of the staff staying well clear due to the effect his presence had on normal common people. Marr stood up to greet the Darth. Who promptly asked,

"What do you know of a Darth Viridian Malserik, Imperious, and the 'Knights of Hiskal' on Drommund Kaas?" Jadus asked, quickly getting to the point.

"Malserik is a patron of Imperious and he holds Vowrawn's favor for his management of Hiskal. As for the Knights, I have very little knowledge on them. I am sure Agents of the Imperial Intelligence have full dossiers on them," Marr Replied snidely and quickly to his fellow masked Sith.

"Information minus a basic biography of them is all we know about them, and we don't have anything on the Knights. Getting information on them has been rather difficult for Imperial Intelligence," Jadus admitted quickly, annoyed by Marr's snide remark.

"Jadus are you telling me imperial intelligence has failed to gather data on Imperious and her underlings?" Darth Marr asked with an inquisitive tone that seemed annoyed that Imperial intelligence failed at their duty especially on the seat of the Empire's power. "also why do you care about a backwater Governor like Malserik?"

"That man has turned over a list of republic infiltrators that was legitimate," Jadus explained as Marr raised an eyebrow under his mask at the statement, "which normally would mean nothing but this has had the effect of blowing out all of their intelligence network in the empire, so much so that we justified a massive communication lock down on Drommund Kaas,"

"Is this serious?" Marr inquired in disbelief, though a quick gesture, he could tell Jadus was indeed serious, and with that though he continued with "So most of the Jedi and Republic network has toppled due to this list?" Marr asked both shocked and surprised with this outcome, and the fact Jadus was the one telling him this and from the tone in Jadus's voice, he could tell the Darth was unnerved by this as much as he was surprised.

"Yes, it is true our investigation into the topic brought out the deepest levels of their infiltration and allowed us to purge it," Jadus explained. "Originally, I though it could be a ploy to get imperial intelligence off of his back as he was a spy, I don't know why he would blast the republic like this?" Jadus spoke legitimately perplexed by this action.

"Jadus, Darth Malserik is proving beyond a shadow of a doubt on his loyalty is with the empire, and I think that attack on Hiskal may not have been all it seems," Marr replied giving his sense on the issue, "with this information I think it may have been the republic acting on various information to silence him, though there is much more afoot than meets the eye with Malserik and Hiskal."

"That is true, Along with that he also just submitted weapons and armor designs to Vorwawn and Acina's Trials," Jadus said as his mind analyzed Malserik's motives. "Then you have the fact that Imperious relocated from her office in Kaas city to Hiskal, and has been seen quite regularly with Malserik, and one of those knights was her apprentices"

"That I do know about, Imperious has become awfully close to Malserik as of late," Marr chuckled beneath his mask, Imperious wasn't one to be very forthcoming on the council. Marr recalled the fact she moved her entire sphere to Drommund Kaas to avoid the council and then moved it to the backwater city of Hiskal, which further concerned the Darth's on the council as she became even more distant. "It is an interesting situation." Marr continued with a finality on the subject, that Jadus followed up with,

"Yes, it is, though Marr, there is another aspect I must know and it isn't about the incident at Hiskal," Jadus said bluntly as he handed the other Darth a data pad that read:

Marr, I know your views on the empire as they align with my own.

I am no threat to you. I feel with our unity against the Emperor, we could unite more Sith to our cause. The Emperor is dangerous and is a threat to the galaxy, and must be stopped.

So, Marr, do you stand with me or against me?

"You put me in an interesting predicament, but I do stand with you Jadus," Marr spoke putting his hand in a position that showed his agreement. "what is your next course of action, Jadus?"

"I suggest we see to Imperious and her group, as I think she may stand with us," Jadus spoke quietly, "I know she would agree with at least some of our beliefs."

"Then we should be on our way to Hiskal immediately," Marr, spoke quickly as a conspiracy to route Vitiate had been formed, and they needed Sith and assets on their side if this plan was to work and Imperious seemed like their best place to start.

* * *

 **A/N: Well we are entering the final three chapters before the new content can commence I would like to thank all of you who have stuck with me thus far and those who have joined in thus far, it really makes my day to see that so many enjoy this story, but enough of that, I will save that spiel for when I have gotten the rework done. Firstly, I don't know why I thought the Dark Council was on Drommund Kaas originally, but alas that has been fixed. Now then, the Trials event which it going to be coming up will be fun, but there is going to be quite a bit in the way before that happens, but we have the events on Nar Shaddaa to deal with. Also in this chapter, I wanted to show the relationship between the three other sponsors and their charges. Though the main event of this chapter is Marr and Jadus are going to enter the plot, as I haven't used many Legends Sith as much as I should of, but I think they will be an interesting addition at this point.**

 **Review Responses:**

 **hornofdesolation: Yup only three more to go, though I am going to relax for a week to reread everything I have written to correct any errors.**

 **So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story, especially when I am on the verge of burning out. Now then, please everyone be safe, stay warm, and may the force be with you all! (New Outro that I can Copy paste for the next 40 chapters, maybe.)**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	38. Chapter 38: Final Words

**Well, every on here is chapter 38:** **Final Words** **, Enjoy. Also, We have broken 200K words!.**

* * *

 **Chapter 38: Final Words**

* * *

Two weeks after the departure of the Whispering Specter, Viridian was walking in the cleaned and tented and tarped over ruins of Waldstahl. This was an action he did often since the day of its destruction, he sighed as he walked into the lower layers of the remains of the fortress as the Republic destroyed a lot of the structure above the foundation that went into the ground. Malserik smiled as the competition to redesign Waldstahl was going quite well, Ruby submitted a design along with various other from around the empire, Already he knew Ruby's would be in the finals as her idea was unique as it was based off of a cathedral on Remnant, and the architecture of such a structure appealed to him, This was despite her design was lacking in many areas like systems and plumbing. Enough so that Malserik figured the person that would win would just be commissioned to do flush out that design.

With the recent events, this reconstruction effort was something the governor of Hiskal could afford as he had just gotten the massive payment for the information bounty from Imperial Intelligence. Next, to that, the finalized dust augmented equipment was starting its production and distribution to the Hiskal Guardsmen for their use. Along with that, the report from Imperial Intelligence stated that most of, if not all of the Republics spy network had been purged from the empire. This made the Baron of Waldstahl chuckle as the news of this was being broadcast to the republic that he was behind this. Which gave him one thought as he walked through the wreck hallways, _Everything is going according to plan._

After a few more minutes of walking, Maslerik entered into his labs. After the attack, it was the first place he cleaned up, as he needed to make sure all of his projects secure and were ready to be submitted to the Imperial Ordinance Trials. this time he knew he had a leg up over any competing designs and thusly the first thing he submitted was an infantry blaster rifle simply know by the Hiskal Guard who got the first two thousand as the Malserik Rifle despite its name being the M-RPW Version four, each letter for the name of those that influenced the design. it was streamlined down, sleek though still long enough to be accurate at range. Ruby, Pyrrha, and Weiss all had a part in the design. Compared to the standard Imperial blaster rifle, the rifle sacrificed some raw power output for more accurate and controlled fire, the rifle had better heat management which allowed for more sustained fully automatic fire than the standard issue blaster along with having some very Remnant-like traits. Malserik was pleased with the testing his own troops gave it, he himself had tested it.

he smiled as she remembered the tests he performed for his officers to get them on board with the idea of these new blasters. He had the rifle on his back in its storage mode, which reduced the rifle down to a rectangular block in size, this idea belonged to Ruby as her scythe had a very similar mode. deploying the rifle it transformed from the block into its blaster form. At which point he had all of his officer's attention as the rifle clacked into form giving a confirmation chirp once it was deployed. After the rifle was deployed Malserik laid upon the ground deploying the bipod, to demonstrate accuracy and suppressing fire capabilities of the weapon on some droids at the back of the courtyard. After destroying a few droids he stood and demonstrated the concealed vibroblade bayonet as he charged and the sixteen-inch spike deployed out the front of the weapon as he slammed into the droid. Though the main concern for this blaster was durability, at which point Malserik handed the Rifle off to Nora, who tortured the rifle as Malserik explained, and some of her most brutal methods only dented the exterior. After Nora was satisfied, she handed it back to Malserik who then fired it from his shoulder, taking the risk that she could have actually damaged it. It was after this display that the officers of the guard quickly signed on with this rifle.

Though the rifle did have a nasty secret that had not been displayed in the demonstration, and that was it had four chambers on the underside of the forward grip for four Elemental Reaction Crystal cartridges, better known to Remnants as Dust cartridges. These cartridges could give the blaster bolts elemental properties. Dust was now starting to creep its way out of Hiskal as Malserik had a controlling monopoly on it, and it was being tested at large by the Sith scientific community, and it was taking it by storm.

Aside from the blaster and dust, before the attack, Malserik was working on new armor for the Empire at large. It kept the stylings of the Sith but did away with the clunky helmet for a more Mandalorian like helmet design. The armor was environmentally sealed and reinforced at key locations. The plating allowed for the soldiers to take more hits and survive, though the suit was heavier and bulkier in places. Despite this, it would give Imperial soldiers a much-needed advantage that they sorely lacked against the Republic in ground combat. Along with improving the equipment, a soldier had at their disposal, giving them storage for grenades and detonators, along with less than lethal options. Malserik was quite pleased with the designs he came up with

The final thing Malserik submitted a design for was not just for the military but for the general public as well. The design was for a reverse engineered scroll like the one he gave Imperious. It was a project he undertook to make something to improve the general quality of life for the public of the empire. This item was all thanks to the Knights gladly allowing Malserik to take a look at their scrolls to figure out the technology and apply it and reverse engineer it. During the reverse engineering process, he improved the communication range along with connecting them to the holonet, he even added a holographic projector for holocomm lines. The best case scenario was he could have them marketed to the people and sold as a product, just like the Remnant scrolls, if not they would at least become trinkets for Sith. Though whether or not they went into serial production, Malserik had already started limited distribution for those loyal to the Visorium order in secret.

He smiled as he looked at the prototypes on display and popped his own scroll out of its pouch on his belt, his scroll was the first to come off the first production run from the factories below in the city. He saw the time, closing the scroll he lamented as he awaited the reports from the trials, though he had to be ready to be in the city for his speech to the people of Hiskal, along with the public execution of his former allies now disgraced traitors.

* * *

While Malserik did his thing, Imperious had been working with her tailor in Kaas city as she wanted to give the Knights gifts when they were made Darths, Something Imperious thought would be occurring sooner than later. Though she would present them with the design of the outfit to make sure everything would be final and in case they didn't approve of a feature or aspect. Imperious was still slightly nervous and worried about Ruby ever since the sudden spike in her power, something she noted with Weiss as well. The thing that concerned her most with Ruby was how she was hiding her beautiful face beneath her hood, wanted to talk to her about that but she was giving her time to adjust as her fear of her former apprentice going rogue was put to rest after that one vision. As after that vision, Imperious had relaxed and rescinded any talk of 'Ruby and Weiss Countermeasures' as she was going to trust Ruby. She even painted an image of the future Hiskal, for Malserik, which was on display in his study. Needless to say the Idea Hiskal could become a massive city like the one she painted shocked him. Though if it came to fruition he would love to see it.

Though Malserik didn't have much time to slack around as he needed to be in Hiskal soon. He had the entire speech and ceremony ready to go to announce Roman and Neo's take over of Balikor and Dornettz's role, respectively then ending it with the announcement of Weiss as the Heiress hiskal. Relaxing in her quarters in Hiskal, Imperious smiled as she sent Malserik the final draft of his speech for him as Weiss had sent the parts she edited back just to be safe. She smiled as pressed the button on her scroll. Imperious wanted to see this speech herself and she was going with him as she loved hearing his speeches. He was good at giving them despite his reclusive nature, something the public didn't know much about. To many Imperial Citizens in Hiskal, Malserik had made his name as a kind and caring leader ever since he took the post in the region from the former tyrant. Though recently Imperious was informing Ruby about on a topic she didn't want Malserik to know about. She wanted to strike when he least expected it. She smiled as she held the metal box in her hand as she cracked it open, over the past year she knew how she felt, and knowing Malserik he would never ask her, so she had a plan to ask him, in an overly dramatic and flashy manner. With that thought concluded she popped the box open revealing a ring.

* * *

On Nar Shaddaa, Ozpin, Tai, and Raven had been trying for the past few weeks to get in contact with the Remnants that had been working with the Hutt crime lord known as 'Hinjac the Hutt' by the locals. This task was one that had all three wanting to slam their heads into the landing struts of the thunderclap. Despite the stress, Ozpin walked down the ramp onto the landing pad. He had come to dislike this planet despite its dark beauty, this planet made some slums in vale that were know for their crime seem like a warm friendly suburb where everyone was friends. Here in the shadows of alleys, a blaster waited for the unwary, and daggers waited to be jabbed into an unsuspecting person's back. The planet, despite its massive infrastructure, lacked a formal government, instead, it was being led by an oligarchy of crime lords mostly Hutt Cartels.

In this time, Hinjac had also taken note of Ozpin and his group, though not in a good way. He sent gangs and other undesirables to attack the ship though most were deterred when Raven ignited her saber and got to work in a flurry of white light colored by elemental dust emitters.

Despite the hostilities, Ozpin had managed to see these Remnants on occasions, and the Remnants that he saw images of what looked like two of the students from Mistral, steel-haired male and a Jade haired female, and one from Atlas a red head. Though Ozpin did check his scroll they did not appear as they had probably ditched their scrolls, one problem Ozpin had not accounted for with his scroll, which had an application that scanned for other Huntsmen and Huntress Scrolls and listed them. He had Taiyang and Raven's but that was it.

He had seen the Remnants, the one time they were allowed into the Hutt's Palace, but they could not link up with them as they were some of the crime lord's best bounty hunters. He figured they were doing what they had to, to survive on this disgusting world. As he finished that thought, he smelled the air, polluted and disgusting, as the smell of decay wafted on the winds.

Inside the Ship, Raven was meditating, trying to contact the Remnants in the Hutt's palace using the force. She had tried this every night with varying degrees of success, though the sheer amount of people, along with the amount of crime on the planet made this difficult. Though as Taiyang put it 'keep annoying them and they will come to us.' so if she could make contact with them, she used the force to make them see visions of Remnant, and other questionable visions. Despite these visions, they stayed adamantly away from Ozpin and his two allies.

Ozpin was starting to regret coming to this galaxy, as Remnant was still in peril, and he had only managed to get only two Remnants back. It was at this moment it dawned on the instructor, that they could be happy here. They could be safe and away from the fear of the Grimm, not bound to a single limited world like Remnant here they had the galaxy at their disposal. He paused cursing that this hadn't occurred to him till this point. Then another thing occurred to Ozpin, and that was all of his students by Remnant's laws were an adult, even the sweet Rose would be an adult, now and now that he had met Summer he wanted to find her as well, though he knew that was what Revan was planning.

Standing outside the ship with Ozpin, guarding the ship from attack, was Taiyang Throughout their time on this planet Taiyang had regretted not staying back on the station with Yang, though she had as assured him that everything was okay, she only wanted them to find Ruby, and as Ruby's 'father' Taiyang only wanted the same. He was extremely concerned for his daughter. He didn't care about what Summer did, he still loved Ruby as his own child, and she was still Yang's sister. The one thing that concerned him the most was the idea of what Ruby could become if she embraced the Dark side.

Inside the ship, Raven was feeling the force around her. As she felt around tonight, she felt the air, it was different, it felt cold she even felt chilled by this wave of cold, as the emotions of darkness fell upon her, she could feel two very powerful Sith were approaching, and a great speed, as she could feel they were in the atmosphere. She reached out using the force as they came closer. Raven's eyes darted open as she realized they were heading straight for them, and she didn't know why.

* * *

In the central plaza of Hiskal, the people had gathered in mass, for the day that came upon Hiskal today, Malserik was going to address the people of Hiskal over what had happened in the attack on Waldstahl weeks prior. As after what had happened that day the citizens of Hiskal had brought notes up to Waldstahl, leaving them outside the security perimeter.

Malserik had made his name being a kind governor of Hiskal and it was this that reinforced how much the people of Hiskal loved him, despite his semi-reclusive nature. He originally wasn't going to go out to the public to explain what had occurred, but the gifts at Hiskal's security perimeter made him decide it was necessary to go in front of the people once more. These gifts were flowers to notes, as the citizens wanted to know the status some addressed to him others addressed to the Knights. Needless to say, they were all shocked by the support. With each gift, Malserik decided to give the people a show, a public execution of the traitors by their successors.

Standing behind the podium on the balcony of the Hiskal Guard headquarters Malserik surveyed the crowd. Looking around, he saw the plaza in front of him was packed with people. He had the two remaining knights of Hiskal at his side with guards ready drag out Dornettz and Balikor on his cue with Roman and Neo itching to execute their traitorous masters, while Imperious sat in the shadows watching the show. He sighed as he grasped the podium as stood there, sighing as brought up the speech on his scroll. He looked out at the crowd, they had appeared in a mild snow with bitter mountain winds to see their leader, a sight that further had Malserik touched by their support.

"People of Hiskal, Loyal Imperial citizens!" Malserik opened with vigorously taking up the tone of a leader, his voice loud and reverberating, "Two weeks ago Waldstahl fell under siege by renegade Sith forces led by a fallen Jedi," Malserik said only partially telling the truth of the attack as telling the whole truth would lead to war. The plan called for war once the Empire could crush the Republic, "These renegade forces laid siege to Waldstahl though their attack was not possible without help by two men who we all know Captain Isakar Balikor and Walther Dornettz!" This line got people of Hiskal to gasp collectively. Like Malserik, the traitors were very well known figures in Hiskal, and well liked by the populace, and the shock could be seen as the guards dragged them out for display as Malserik let. "They betrayed me. They betrayed Hiskal! They led the aggressors into Waldstahl and they tore it to shreds, injuring and killing our guards, our friends, and family members, and ruining my home. These attackers were trying to operate to the benefit of the republic trying to steal plans to sell to the Republic. they are criminals! Traitors! And murderers! That need to be executed!" Viridian Declared as the gagged traitors eyes went wide fear as the two Knights ignited their sabers and put their blades up to the necks of the traitors. Though they were under orders not to kill them, that honor fell to two other people. "As per a Sith Tradition, the apprentice will surpass the master, So I see it only fitting that their Successors be the executioners."

It was at this cue, Roman, dressed in an officer like trench coat unbuttoned over his custom armor plate and his breech pants with jack boots. on his orange hair rested a cocked to the right. His face had a subtle smirk that showed his smug attitude. Neo walked out wearing the outfit of Imperial Agent, though in the style of the Hiskal guard more than the Empire. Drawing their blaster pistols and putting them to the backs of the heads of the traitors. Malserik looked at both and nodded confirming they were ready to continue.

"Though I would like to give them their final words, as we are not savages in Hiskal, So Ruby and Weiss, cut the gags," Malserik ordered as the two knights slashed the fabric there lightsabers, Ruby spitefully made sure the tip of the blade of her saber burned Balikor's cheek as she cut the gag off. It was at this point. During this, the crowd started shouting at the traitors with vigor and vulgarity. "So let us start with Balikor, My old friend what are your final words?" Malserik asked calmly as he looked over his shoulder, back at Balikor.

Balikor being the ever so bold person he was, said, "Oh yes I would like to say one thing to you people of Hiskal! Death to the Empire, the traitorous bastard of Hiskal!" Malserik looked away as he raised up his right hand giving Roman the signal to ready to fire, "you don't even have the balls to look me in the eyes, Malserik! No wonder that Sith cow likes you, along with these whores you call knights! Then you have the fools that think you're a hero, you failure of a Jedi!" As he said that Malserik lowered his hand as he turned back to face him with a smirk, though Ruby could feel he was deeply offended as he carried out these actions the entire crowd could feel that Balikor had struck a nerve. All of those on the platform with Malserik took a step back as Malserik's Smirk widened.

"Commander Torchwick, Lady Rose, please stand back, there has been a change of plan," he spoke, his voice carrying instabilities as he took off his gloves and Ruby and Roman stood well back with looks of fear. the roar of the crowd was deafening as the people saw their leader as they knew him, and that was a man who cared but if someone called him out, he was relentless. Though he was not the only one that was going to be relentless after those harsh offending words and that second person let her presence be known to all of those present.

"Now those kinds of words tend to get people hurt," Imperious hissed her voice loaded with venom as she walked out of the shadows of Guard Headquarters as her voice brought an eerie silence to the event. The crowd watched intently as she walked out, as many didn't recognize her Imperious wasn't very well know by the people of Hiskal, though many had seen her with Malserik and some even rumored she too was Sith. Though it became evident to the crowd that she was watching in the shadows and that she was just as offended as Malserik, as she said, "And I will not stand by while someone insults us, Malserik," Imperious exclaimed as Malserik looked at her furious face and replied with.

"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, Imperious," Balikor is right I should look him in the eye to kill him," Malserik said as he looked down at the piece of trash the traitor in front of him was. He was going to use his eye, but to Malserik, that was too good for him, besides he would rather not publicize his ability, yet.

Ruby could feel the negativity and anger focused on Balikor, from all those on the stage and the crowd. Balikor was still screaming out insults and verbal trash. It was at that moment Ruby could feel Weiss's feelings, as she had suddenly become apprehensive of the whole event. Ruby didn't like the idea of public executions and neither did Weiss, but they were Sith this should be par for the course for them. Though even Ruby wasn't comfortable with the way Malserik was going about this. The crowd was is in a state of suspense. Though that suspense was soon shattered as Malserik and Imperious started to lift Balikor towards the crowd. Balikor laughed though the grip on his neck as Imperious charged a bolt of force lightning up. The crowd cheered as Malserik and Imperious vented their pent up rage on the traitorous captain. As Imperious's force lightning struck the captain's body, he was vaporized in extreme agony as blue sparks writhed through his body, causing his muscles to spasm and tear from the stress. Then Malserik showered the traitor with sparks, and his screams echoed through the crowd.

Of all the things the Weiss and Ruby had done as Sith this one wasn't sitting well with the Dove of Hiskal as she watched the light show above. Weiss felt like painfully torturing them publicly was wrong. This was distressing enough to the point of where she had to leave the stage. Though before she did she told Neo to put Dornettz out of his misery when she was gone, to which Neo smiled as she acknowledged her orders. Weiss walked off the stage, with all of the focus on Balikor only a few people noticed her leave and those that did, did not say a word.

Before Neo could take the shot on Dornettz, he was ripped back unlike Balikor the man was begging, he didn't want to die like that. It was at this moment Ruby noted Weiss's absence and her feelings of distress and disagreement. Ruby herself felt thought this type of execution being held in public was going a bit too far. She didn't have any mercy in her heart for traitors like Dornettz but she did not feel completely comfortable with a public torture and execution shows, mainly due to what Weiss was feeling. She decided, if Malserik and Imperious will not be civil about execution, she would take up that mantle herself as she couldn't let Weiss be tormented like this. Ruby could feel a majority of elements of the crowd were starting to get very uncomfortable right now as well, the shouting and cheering replaced by horror and dread among them. Malserik had done public executions before, but none like this. This level of brutality was foreign to the people of Hiskal. To them, Malserik was a noble Sith that killed quickly and didn't torture yet here he was inflicting massive pain to a man that was respected throughout Hiskal, with a woman they barely knew. Despite this some of the people did not look away, no, they sympathized with Malserik, while most were fearful, others were shocked, all watching with a morbid curiosity. Though there were to figures watching from a skiff hovering above the crowd unnoticed who had taken note of all that was occurring below with great interest.

* * *

 **A/N: So here is this chapter done, I really couldn't think of much to add to what I had, minus filling in some details, my focus has been elsewhere since I got my new PC, Ghost Recon Wildlands and Mass Effect Andromeda are great fun and massive time sinks. I just refined this chapter to fit in the story. I just wanted to set the stage for what happens in the next chapter as their will be some major plot points to hit. After which we will get to see what is going on in the Jedi order, then we will fully enter what I am calling the Grimm Arc.**

 **Guest: I am not going to worry about it but it was something I found out, and it bugged me a slight bit.**

 **So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story, especially when I am on the verge of burning out. Now then, please everyone be safe, stay warm, and may the force be with you all! (I told you I would.)**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	39. Chapter 39: Hollow Mercy

**Well, there went my march deadline, well that is beside the point here we are with Chapter 39: Hollow Mercy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 39: Hollow Mercy**

* * *

As the two Sith held up Dornettz in a display of power. There was a small red blur that originated from under Ruby's black cloak. Whirring to the center of Dornettz's back, though before either of the Darth's noticed, the blood red blade of a half of Rose De Sang pierced Dornettz's chest from behind, destroying his heart killing both quickly and painlessly. After which, Ruby ripped the corpse back out of the Darth's grips in an impressive display of power. Though, she lowered it gently back to the stage as she retrieved the half of De Sang as if flew back to her hand and approached the podium.

Both Malserik and Imperious were flabbergasted at what had just happened, Malserik tried bar Ruby from the podium but it was much too late as she lowered her hood and began to speak to the people of Hiskal. "I am going to excuse myself now," Ruby said quickly as turned around and went inside to find her distraught lover inside the building.

Malserik looked out at the crowd, seeing some of the faces of disgust, shock, and horror. The baron of Waldstahl knew what Balikor wanted to do, which gave him the thought of, __Damn it, I played right into his hands.__ This thought was upsetting as he hated being played like this. As he looked out at the crowds of people in attendance, he noted that many that wore the looks of fear and horror gave the type of look someone would give a monster. Though some looked supporting and ready to cheer. Though it was the majority that affected him as he felt his stomach clench up as it came to the realization he just killed two of friends that he had socialized with and supported over all of these years. They may have betrayed him but he treated them as if their friendship amounted to nothing. As his emotions flooded through him he felt his legs give out in front of the people of Hiskal, collapsing in tears. Imperious seeing her partner fall to his knees wanted to comfort him but she didn't have time for that. Though, she realized now was her time to strike at Malserik, as she needed to end this on a joyful and happy note as even their former Apprentices were disapproving of this action.

Walking over to the podium, Imperious's heart raced as she spoke into the microphone, "People of Hiskal, I am Darth Imperious, I am a member of the Dark Council and I have been living with Malserik for some time now," Imperious spoke her voice taking on a soothing tone as Malserik sobbed on his knees and a universal shock riveted the crowd to their Governor. "Dear Citizens of Hiskal we up in Waldstahl thank all of you for your support, and we must apologize for the brutality of that display, though these men had put all of us through considerable pain and emotion, and we needed to vent it, as even the Dove and Raven did not approve of our actions. I hope you can forgive us for what we have done." it was at this point the majority of the crowd switch from horror to sympathy as the horror was shoved aside. They could hear the sincerity in her voice, along with how broken their leader looked, it was at that moment the more sympathetic crowd started cheering, as Imperious looked out at them.

The dark lady wasn't one for public displays like this, but she was enjoying this one. It was at this point she looked at one of the skiffs that were hovering over the plaza, a strange sight to see in Hiskal. Though seeing the people on the skiff made her heart sink into the dark depths of her chest. She saw the both Darth Marr and the recently returned Darth Jadus looking down at her from above. Giving them a quick glare, she realized she couldn't warn Ruby or Weiss quickly that these two were in town yet. Though this would not deter her from her goals for today as she had an Idea on how to turn this embarrassing event around, she had to strike quickly and decisively it was her time to strike despite her wanting to do this in private.

* * *

It was at this point Ruby found Weiss in the depths of the ghostly empty guard headquarters lobby, seething on a bench with her hood up in a corner, from a distance the way her arms were crossed and the way she sat gave the air of fury, something Ruby could feel as she approached. Sitting in the corner, Weiss could feel Ruby approaching she knew she would be concerned and thusly proceeded to ask,

"Why did Malserik have to do that?!" Weiss asked her lover, her voice angry, enraged, as she thought that what had just occurred was completely unacceptable. Of course, they were traitors, but to the icy Sith, she felt it overkill to execute anyone like that, along with absolutely barbaric. Seeing Weiss like this Ruby pulled Weiss's hood back and pulled her into a hug. After the long embrace, Ruby retracted and looked Weiss in the eye with her eyes shadowed by her hood as she spoke.

"Weiss I know this is going to sound very bad, but we have both killed like that before," Ruby spoke as she kneeled in front of the sitting Weiss, "and that was mild compared to some of the things other Sith do in public. Remember our first mission as Sith, that bastard Jahi that I killed. He would have done so much worse to them especially if they were female. Also, we have had it rough the past few weeks, and so have they. I can forgive this," Ruby explained as she locked her golden eyes with Weiss's blue and silver eye along with the eye patch.

"This isn't Right! We can't just brutally kill someone in public like that!" Weiss said her voice consumed with anger, "Even Malserik said it himself, we are not savages!"

"Weiss, you of all people should understand how Malserik is feeling right now, you yourself told me about how you compared that attack to one of the White fang attacks, that you had been involved in when you were twelve, Then you had the fact Balikor egged him on," Ruby explained calmly her voice cold and remorseless as her golden eyes peered out from under her hood a Weiss, "I don't like it either but what is done is done," Ruby explained with finality, before continuing with, "why don't we go to Stahltisch and get a bite to eat?" Ruby said changing the topic on Weiss though smiling in a way that made Weiss think of the old Ruby that was on Remnant though the burns on the rights side of her face, and the dark peaked hood quickly shattered that illusion.

"Yeah, sure," Weiss replied, the tone of her voice simmered down to a mild indigence and aggravation as Ruby hugged her tightly, as she stood up. Weiss was shocked by the sudden embrace, though after a second she hugged Ruby back resting her head on her right shoulder. After which they walked out onto the streets to join the crowd outside who looked at the duo but had no words.

* * *

In the Whispering Specter, Pyrrha and Nora stood on the rear boarding ramp as it opened in mid-flight for a quick drop off. Winter, like Roman and Neo, was trained to pilot this ship with great skill, maneuvering through the air lanes of the dark ecumenopolis. The rule for the ship was don't touch down for longer than needed, ever.

Flying low and fast, Winter hammered the ship through the cityscape much to the annoyance of the airspeeders and swifts flying around them. Winter cursed as the landing pad, they were told to land at had a ship on it. As they couldn't turn back, Winter made the call they would drop onto the BT-7 that was landed there, as destroying it was not an option nor was finding a new landing pad, as this was closest to the place where they need to be. She opened the intercom and announced the change in plans.

"Pyrrha, Nora you're going to be dropping on top of a starship," Winter explained as the ship hovered above the Thunderclap. Looking down the two Sith saw the obstruction as the ramp of the Positioned above the ship. They both knew that this pad would give them the closest position to the Hutt's palace with no other good and quick option, the two Sith lords leaped out the back and landed on the ship, as Winter gave them a parting message through the intercom,"May the force be with you!"

* * *

The roar of the unknown ship above was deafening to Ozpin ears as two figured slammed down onto the top of his ship. Quickly the unknown figures darted off the top of his ship and landed next to Ozpin, paying him no attention as they ran past. Though the former headmaster got a good look at their faces, they had an air of familiarity to them but he couldn't pinpoint why. While this occurred Raven bolted down the ramp of the Thunderclap her lightsaber at the ready as Taiyang came to the front with his blaster raised and the safety disengaged. As the ship above roared off, pitching up sharply, darting off into orbit as the engines of the Ship scorched the top of the Thunderclap. Though these two unknown figures ignored the three people near the ship. Instead, they darting off towards the Hutt palace.

Pyrrha and Nora knew there were people on the landing pad, they had decided through hand signals that they would not attack. Instead, they would attempt to make their way to the Hutts palace in the shadows. Darting off a blaster bolt grazed Pyrrha's arm causing her aura to flare as she darted off with Nora to the Hutt's palace not even caring that some smuggler took a pot shot at her. Quickly, they merged into the shadows and started making their way onto the Hutt's palace as another blaster bolt slammed into the wall behind them.

Ozpin was in disbelief at what had just occurred, the two Sith that had landed in front of him looked very familiar. He saw the pulse of an aura so that meant they were Remnants, judging this in his mind he quickly reached for his scroll. He quickly opened it, looking for the field location application. Upon opening the app he was greeted with Raven and Taiyang's images below his. Below his tab, he saw team PRWN's tab. This caused his heart to sink as he remembered PRWN, causing him to slack his grip as he tapped the tab. As the tab opened he saw two names that made the eyes behind his dark glasses go wide.

Pyrrha Nikos: Status Unknown

Nora Valkyrie: Status Unknown

His grip slacked enough to drop the scroll tablet, as he saw years out of date images of two of his students that he knew well. He was in absolute shock as his mouth went agape, they were here and they came out of that ship, and the only thought that Ozpin could muster was _By Monty no_. Behind him, Taiyang and Raven dashed up to see what was going on.

"Oz! Who are they?" Taiyang asked as ran up taking another shot that impacted the alleyway the Sith took, mainly to mark it. "Are we going after them?" Tai asked as Raven stood ready. A tear rolled down Ozpin's face as he replied.

"Yes, follow them till you can't anymore, Tai, I will pursue as well, Raven wait for our signal, then open a rift for you and the other one of us," Ozpin explained. "as to answer who they are is Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie, two of Ruby's teammates,"Ozpin said as he started jogging into the sprawling cityscape, as he finished the sentence he activated his time distortion semblance, slowing time while he moved at a normal pace. Ozpin saw the world slow to a crawl as he walked calmly through it. Despite how casually he was moving with his semblance active his abilities rivaled those of Ruby's speed on Remnant at just a walking pace, though unlike her ability, his could only be used in short bursts.

Taiyang ran along the alley, he wasn't the fastest man alive but his fire semblance allowed for an increase in speed, as he tore through the mucky and disgusting alleys of Nar Shaddaa. He knew how to navigate alleys of the Smuggler's moon, the alleys were narrow and tight, great places for ambushes and traps. Tai kept on the shortest path to the Hutt' palace that he knew, as trying to trail them would be impossible as his semblance did not directly modify his speed. Instead, he decided to head them off at the pass, per say. His mind was going crazy as he remembered one of the few times he met Pyrrha Nikos, it was that day. He remembered her ferocity and if this galaxy taught him anything, power is corrupting, and he had a feeling that they would give Raven, Ozpin and himself, no mercy if they got in their way.

Raven realized after a few moments after her friends took off, she realized she could use her rifts much more productively. Sensing the Hutt's palace remembering a shadowy alcove and its location in the palace. Realizing she was actually the fastest of them all. Caught up in emotion Oz and Tai thought they could catch them when Raven realized this, she realized not even Ozpin's time semblance could hope to catch them as he didn't have proficiency in the force to detect them. Focusing her mind to that alcove, she flicked her hand and opened a rift. Walking through, she was in the Hutt's palace as she slid her boney Grimm-like mask over her face.

* * *

Dashing through the dark alleys the two Sith had their sabers at the ready, though unignited. They shocked all of those dwelling in the alley, criminal scum and inhabitants dove out of the way as they saw the Sith barreling toward them, as one Rodian stepped in their way trying to stop them with a drawn blaster, The individual was sliced diagonally down the torso from shoulder to opposite underarm, he was killed instantaneously by Nora's pink blade, then the now still standing corpse was launched back to the wall by a force push by Pyrrha, who just wanted to clear the way as a gang of six trandoshans leaped out only to meet the same fate as the Rodian, as their heads fell loose from their shoulders as the smell of burned flesh filled the air as they continued towards the Hutt's palace cutting a bloody swath of criminals down on their way to the palace, though they only attacked those that attacked first, never once turning their blades on the innocent, though they knew at this point stealth was out the window.

* * *

Back in Hiskal on the stage in full view of the crowd, Imperious took the mic off the podium and walked over to Malserik, who was still in shock at the events that had occurred. He was a man full of regret and sorrow at the moment, something that made the crowd feel that their leader was one of them, he to was just another person, not a Sith. While the crowd focused on Malserik, Imperious had her playful smirk that unnerved both Roman and Neo, making them wonder, _What is she doing?_

By this point, Ruby and Weiss had walked out of the Hiskal guard headquarters, Weiss was still somewhat distraught, though Ruby decided to see what the people saw. Looking up at the stage she saw Imperious walking in very pride filled stride toward the distraught Malserik. It was at this moment Ruby thought, _ _she isn't going to do what I think she is going to do?__ Weiss kept walking when Ruby stopped, causing her to tug at their interlaced hands.

"Weiss I think we may want to stay for a few more minutes," Ruby blurted out as her lover looked back from the tug on her hand, not wanting to remain one more second in the presence of Malserik and Imperious.

* * *

Looking on at the stage, Imperious stood shadowing over Malserik. Glaring down at the man in a way that made her seem quite upset, as the sun breached a cloud and shined on her back. silhouetting her figure as she spoke in a loud tone that the entirety of the crowd could hear, "Malserik, you have outlived your usefulness as my friend."

This line made everyone gasp, including Weiss as she ripped her lightsaber off her belt. Though the two in the skiff above, Marr and Jadus were amused by this turn of events. Ruby had a smile on her face as she realized what Imperious was going to do. The crowd stood silent, mouths agape as Malserik looked up broken as Imperious's cruel words. Though, he steeled himself and stood up with an insulted look tears streaming down his eyes as he drew Sturmkreig and ignited the blade. "So you used me, huh, now you are to do away with me you are insane!-" though before this overreaction could be followed through to its logical conclusion, Imperious backed off giving a comically calm and playful point with big bright grin on her face as she said,

"Malserik you are too jumpy," Imperious smiled as Malserik looked quite confused as the look on his face begged the question, _Imperious, do you even realize what you said?_ It was at that moment Imperious responded to that face with, "take a look at what is hanging off of Sturmkrieg," Imperious smiled chuckling as Malserik looked at Sturmkrieg's hilt, he saw the thin silvery chain that led down to a silver ring looked like it had an inlay of jade that encircled the band. Seeing this, Malserik's heart sank as he connected the dots in his mind and looked at Imperious, who the air was tense as Imperious continued, "you may have outlived you usefulness as just a friend, but you have gained usefulness as my partner and lover, and you did this long ago, so Malserik? Will you accept my proposal and marry me?" Imperious said taking the strike right for Malserik's heart. Sturmkreig deactivated as the grip safety triggered as Malserik's grip went slack, just like the jaws of all those watching, Minus Ruby, Marr, and Jadus. The latter two decide they had seen enough and were going to conduct their investigation later as the emotions surrounding Imperious and Malserik would be too great at the moment. Instead, they would go after the apprentices as they could be potentially turned from their master's if Imperious and Malserik didn't work out in favor of their plans.

Malserik, after dropping Sturmkreig in shock, he felt his legs giving out. Part of him was angry, unbelievably angry, at the stunt Imperious had just pulled. The other part was overjoyed that she was just messing with him yet again and she actually was just having fun. Though he looked out at the crowd, realizing he was still in public. He tried to steel his emotions as best he could, but he felt himself quivering as Imperious smiled at him. The tension in the air was palpable as Malserik's mind was a roller coaster, though he managed to stand up and say,

"That was creative, making me think the worst was to come to disguise the best, Imperious you are a trickster," Malserik admitted, wanting to scold her for what had to be her worst trick, yet her best. But he could to no such thing, as his entire brain was seemingly shut down by this, though after a few moments as he smiled lightly, he admitted, something he tried to hide, but he couldn't anymore, "though that is one thing I do like about you," Malserik attempted to say calmly but his voice cracked and tears poured down his face, "to answer you inquiry, I Viridian Malserik, will take your hand in mar-" Malserik stopped as his heart race and his face was flushed his voice had choked at which point, Ceres leaned in and whispered into his ear with a bright smile.

"To take a word from your apprentice's vocabulary, do it in one word you dolt," Ceres whispered quickly then backing off with her brimming smile, she knew she had struck well.

Malserik choked on the word, though he said it quickly and finally, "Yes." with that said, the crowd below cheered, starting to chant a phrase Malserik had heard the people use when he showed he was unwavering as a leader or did something they approved of, "Invictus Rex!"

* * *

Ruby smiled as Weiss, looked up at them she still had her unignited saber in hand. She was shocked at how it went as most people in the Sith empire would have figured Imperious was going to kill Malserik, though She used it to toy with him. Looking back at Ruby, Weiss could tell that she probably knew about this. Weiss got this feeling from the black and red clad Sith, from her chuckling and subtle comments.

"Now with that out of the way lets go get something to eat." Ruby said with as smile as she crossed her arms and smiled and said: "even you fell for it, Ceres may want to tone it back a bit." Ruby smirked glancing at Mitternacht in Weiss's hand.

"I would agree, Ruby that was a bit too much," Weiss spoke as Imperious's actions quickly turned the crowd's attention away from the executions that had just occurred, "but yeah let's get something to eat I haven't had a chance to eat all day," Weiss spoke plainly as she got stuck with another last minute proofread of the speech, which slightly aggravated her as only about twenty percent of it was used. Though as they walked down the streets some of the civilians gave them smiles and waves as they walked on.

As they walked on the streets, Ruby could feel entire mood of the city had been altered by what Imperious did, it was at that moment it clicked to Ruby why Imperious did what she did, she wanted all the discussion of what happened today to be on her stunt and for everyone to forget the horror show and from what she could feel from the city around her, it worked.

Weiss on the other side was still angered by this event, though Ruby was right, she did understand what Malserik was going through, and his vengeance, though that did not make it right or acceptable, it just made it more palatable for her mind, and she was happy about what happened with Imperious and Malserik, they were indeed a good couple for each other despite them being polar opposites. Looking over at her partner whose hand was intertwined with her own, she thought _Just like us._

Walking as a couple down the streets of the mountain city, Ruby and Weiss felt the slightly warm air fill their lungs as the moisture coming from the anti-snow accumulation systems in the street evaporated the snow as it came down, it kept the streets clear for pedestrians and it created a very interesting way to keep warm if needed, lay on the ground, as the streets were kept at a very warm temperature. As they walked towards their favorite restaurant, they drew close to the industrial district, something they could tell by the odors of the chemicals that were in the mountain air. Though one smell that Weiss knew well and that was the mining agent used for Dust mining, and that was an odor that made Hiskal feel even more like home for the former Schnee Heiress. Watching the streets they saw the laborers returning to their work or heading home from a long shift The saw a very colorful and diverse scene as they saw nonhumans like Togrutas, Rodians, Twi'leks, Chiss, Zeltrons, and Cathar, walking with their human friends, coworkers, and strangers. Though most of the foot traffic was coming out of the speech from the central plaza.

Thankfully, for Ruby and Weiss, Malserik had given a decree to not disturb the knights if they were in the streets of his Hiskal unless it was truly an emergency. That didn't mean they walked completely undisturbed, they got waves and smiles from passersby. Though the crowds today paid them no mind, instead of talking about what had occurred in the plaza. Most were talking about the proposal, though there were a select few that they encountered that were discussing the way 'Malserik and Imperious lost it.' Ruby was seemingly ignoring the conversation until a person from said group walked over and spoke directly to the Raven of Hiskal directly, saying,

"Thank you for interrupting that, my lady," The Togruta spoke as he approached, thankful for Ruby's timely intervention in the cruel execution. This made Weiss raise an eyebrow at what had just occurred on the stage, it made her ask, in her mind, w _hat did Ruby do?_ This point was further reinforced by what the Togruta said next "I had no idea Lord Malserik could be so cruel." after that was said Weiss had to interject,

"He normally isn't like this, he never has done torture like that before," Weiss frowned as she was still angered by the event and the tone of her voice reflected that. The Togruta quickly agreed as he said,

"I know, I have lived here my entire life and he was always quick and clean with his executions, that is why I am thankful that Lady Rose intervened, I don't like seeing suffering like that," With that said Weiss had to shift the conversation to the oddly quiet Ruby, who looked quite annoyed at the fact that this discussion was happening. As Weiss turned to look at Ruby, her dagger-like golden eyes snapped quickly to Weiss as she admitted,

"I had to kill Dornettz myself," Ruby grumbled, it was evident she didn't want to have to say that, but Weiss's shift in gaze had tipped Ruby off to the incoming inquiry, though that deduction was reinforced by the feeling she was getting from Weiss. Ruby huffed as she admitted, "Lightsaber through the heart, killed him instantly and painlessly," Weiss had told Neo but she figured it was too late for that, that Ruby had to intervene. Though one thing that really concerned Weiss was Ruby's lack of remorse, though that would be a later discussion as they explained some pleasantries with the thankful Togruta, then went on their way, continuing down the street towards Stahltisch in an awkward silence.

* * *

Returning to Nar Shaddaa, Pyrrha and Nora had made their way to the Hutt's palace with a bloody trail of cut up corpses filling Nora's urge to break some legs, the district was alerted to their presence, and the Hutts were scrambling to deal with the force users that had cut their way through the alleys, though as the Hutt's forces opened the large doors to the outside of Hinjac's compound they found two figures. Raising their blasters they saw it was two of their street lookouts, though their faces bore a wicked smile as they opened fire on the squads inside. The shock of two of the Cartel's most loyal opening fire on those that trusted them allowed two more figures, one with a pulsing pink lightsaber and one with a blazing magma orange lightsaber, to slip in and cut down the gang of cartel troops as the lookouts turned their blasters on themselves.

Pyrrha chuckled at the look that some of the troops had when their lookouts started firing, there was a certain satisfaction she got for dominating someone's mind. Entering the compound Nora could smell the debauchery in the air from all of the vile things that probably occurred in this structure. This only made her smile as maybe someone here could give her a good fight.

Walking down the halls Pyrrha walked casually and upright like she didn't even feel threatened by the environment of the compound, a light smirk curled on her lips as she walked with her scepter in her left hand. The spirits tied to her via the force were feeding her information of all of the surroundings so she had nothing to fear.

Nora's stance was like that of a predator, hunched over, keeping low, like she could burst into a sprint on all fours, with a bright look of insanity on her face. Smelling the air, she could discern the type of threats ahead, her sight keen and focused, in the dim lights, looking at all of the glowing red shatter points she could see in everything around her. She was ready to let loose like she did on Tatooine during the raids she did on settlements as she was restrained to rules of engagement in Hiskal. As more guards ducked out to fire upon the intruders, Pyrrha and Nora engaged.

Carving through the defenses, the two Sith decimated the under trained cartel forces. Nora was a brutal whirlwind of pink while Pyrrha was a dance of fiery orange, they fought in tandem with each other, weaving a swath of death down the halls, as they cut their way towards the storage room. Upon reaching the door to the storage room, the duo found the door sealed and their lightsabers rendered useless as the door had a Mandalorian Iron plating. Seeing a bright red shatter point on the door frame. Nora decided that wrecking the frame could open it, so she slammed the pike end into the frame and punched a hole through the shatter point hitting an emergency release beneath the surface and engaged it, Pyrrha sighed at the brutal method of entry and followed as Nora's bloodlust grew even further.

"Penny, Em, they are here!" A male voice spoke as they heard the ignition of two lightsabers. Smiling Nora readied her pink lightsaber as force lightning sparks started to flare in the muscles of her body, sparking through her leather long coat as Pyrrha patted her on her back seemingly bringing the berserker back to reality, as Pyrrha smiled and said,

"Nora, do not be so hasty, these are the ones that are supposedly Remnants, let me see what I can get out of them, then you can do what you want with them," Pyrrha spoke as she started to walk forth, towards the sound of three sets boots. It was at this point a sword clanged on the wall, Pyrrha deflected the sword noting the wire connecting to the hilt. Leaping over one of the crates came a Mandalorian in silvery armor swinging a silver lightsaber blade. Nora quickly intercepted the attacker's strike by dashing in and catching the blade on hers, her crazed eyes staring into the visor of the silver clad warrior. The manic look making the Force user back of with a very profane sentence.

"Oh for fuck's sake, it's this bitch, I thought you died when Cinder blew us up!" The silver mercenary said quickly and harshly. He said taking off his helmet revealing his face. Though Nora could tell by the way he talked and the details he mentioned who he was.

"Oh Stumpy metal legs!" Nora said as she bolted over to him pressing the attack. Nora's attack's were insane driven by madness, so much so the mercenary backed away and dodged her attacks as best as he could.

"Merc! What's going on?!" a female voice inquired with a yell. as two women rounded the corner of crates. One was a young redhead with green eyes that looked like she hadn't aged much since the incident, Pyrrha and Nora knew her by the name Penny. She was a friend of Ruby back on Remnant but that's all they knew. The other they knew as Emerald, one of Cinder's apprentices from the incident, her dark skin, red eyes and jade hair a dead give away.

"Oh isn't this a reunion?" Pyrrha said readying her scepter and lightsaber, its lava-like blade buzzing with crackles of instability the heat wafting off the blade and into the air, any thoughts Pyrrha had about chatting had been thrown promptly out the window as her urge to kill was starting to arise.

Emerald looked shocked as she looked Pyrrha in herSithly red eyes. She quivered a slight bit, but she quickly steeled herself. Holding her green saber in a defensive stance, and the Redhead deployed more wire controlled swords. In retaliation Pyrrha blasted Penny swords with a quick bolt of lightning from her right hand. This stunned Penny allowing Pyrrha to push the attack. Filled with rage and feeling of justice, the Sith pushed the attack on the other Remnants with full intent to kill, for revenge and to finish their battle on Remnant.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was a wild chapter, so yeah, a LOT happened, Well the Execution the proposal and the battle on Nar Shaddaa. With that I wanted to modify how those scenes were handled, like the damage to Nar Shaddaa, originally I had them being subtle, but Nora I feel couldn't contain herself, and I view Nar Shaddaa like an underhive in 40K at times so, I think criminals would be just waiting in Alleys for anyone they could get their hands on. So I feel they would even dare to go after some Sith, that's pretty much the only thing I feel needs explanation If there is anything anyone has questions or requires clarifications let me know!**

 **Review Responses:**

 **Sith Master: Feel free to give me a few burns, it helps the story by helping me write better!**

 **Alex Blackclaw: Thank you, and Ozpin is on my to do list though I am saving it for a specific chapter as well and that one is coming up as one of the new content chapters.**

 **ToxicGentleman:** **Thank you, Well the Executions consequences are there I came to the realization that the Sith populace would be used to this to an extent so I did edit a few things there. As for Nar Shaddaa, that party has just gotten started! (Insert maniacal laugh here)**

 **So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe, stay warm, and may the force be with you all!**

 **One more to go!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	40. Chapter 40: Fractures

**A/N: By the force, here we are Chapter 40 the end of the rewrite! So here it is Chapter 40: Fractures.**

* * *

 **Chapter 40: Fractures.**

* * *

While the events were occurring on Nar Shaddaa and Drommund Kaas, In the Jedi Council chambers on Tython another argument had spurred up as the recent operation on Drommund Kaas had opened up two seats on the Jedi Council along with harsh criticism of Satele Shan as the Grand Master of the order. After her failure on Drommund Kaas, the council in its entirety was divided, one side willing to forgive the other not. Both sides were very vocal aside from Satele and Surik. The white-clad, silver-eyed Jedi sat in her chair slouched with her arm supporting her head with a smug grin on her face. Satele sat across from her tense and fearing as she saw the Jedi order seemingly dividing before her eyes.

Satele looked at the few empty seats on the council, she felt guilt and shame for her failure. She was angry and distressed though for one of the few occasions in her time as a Jedi she snapped. What made her snap was one council member's suggestion.

"I think we need a new Grand Master, as this massive of a failure is unacceptable!" one of the more verbose masters spoke out causing half almost half of the masters to rally behind him as Surik hid her smirk with the placement of her hand over her mouth. Satele snapped embracing her anger at this backlash.

"You really think removing me is the best course of actions, if I may ask who would you name to replace me!?" Satele inquired boldly, her voice tainted with anger that shocked the council.

"I those who stand with me would name Master Meetra Surik to be the new grand master of the order!" the Jedi Master replied. At this moment Satele knew she needed to calm down as she felt the darkness trying to take her. She looked around the council chamber those standing with the outspoken master, Satele could almost see strings going from them to Meetra's fingers. Though, one of the masters on Satele's side proposed an issue that could arise.

"Is it so wise to put a new grand master into power when war could be knocking at our door? If the empire found out about our actions in Hiskal they could be mobilizing their attack as we speak!" The bold master spoke, injecting logic into the discussion. At which point those masters in support of Satele rallied behind her logic as to them this was not the time for infighting, they need to be ready in case there was a Sith retaliation to their actions, as it was confirmed that all of the priority targets were still alive and if a Dark council member claimed they were attacked by the Republic and could provide proof, the Sith fleets would already be mobilizing.

Then came the the fact of how their intelligence network went dark, they had received no reports over the past weeks which was quite concerning for the Jedi as they were blind to what was occurring in the Empire, which gave the Implications that a Jedi with knowledge of the intelligence network was taken alive by Malserik and interrogated. Which turned into a point against Satele as she let a Jedi get captured and then interrogated. Though after that topic reared its head the council was dismissed by Satele, as this argument would help with nothing.

* * *

Though, after the council meeting, Summer found herself being confronted by Satele Shan in her quarters as she slipped in before she had returned. Satele was being very bold and invasive to the silver eyed Jedi, enough so that she had her saber drawn but not ignited. Satele drew a temporary replacement saber in response to this threat. Both of them were unsure of who would strike first if at all. Though Satele started to speak, as her mechanical hand clamped down on the hilt of her replacement saber.

"So, Surik. Care to explain why we have twelve more Remnant Jedi that were forced into joining the order, and the fact one of our best knights is being ostracized for her opinion on redemption?" Satele growled lowly and accusingly at the white and red clad Jedi, her voice reeking of venom as she spoke. The crackling of Satele's crude prosthetic filling the silent air as she further tightened the grip on the hilt of the cheap replacement saber. "You even drew your saber on me. How far have you fallen Surik? What are you planning?"

Summer felt a drop of sweat as she was pushed back into a corner both metaphorically and physically as Satele blocked the way out of her quarters. Summer, lowered her hood and quickly smirked and said, "Oh, I am the one whose fallen!?" Summer replied in a condescending snark, "Says the woman who broke into my quarters, look in the mirror Satele, I care so much for the Jedi I am willing to bolster our forces so we can bring peace to the galaxy, you are the one trying to stop that." Summer continued, "How do I know you haven't secretly been turned to the darkness like Revan was?"

Satele felt anger as she heard Surik say these things with a smile, years ago she had been a timid Jedi unsure of her place in the order on Tython, now she was looked to be the second in command in the order and it seemed to be going to her head. Satele felt the darkness in her heart and her own, as she replied verbosely,

"About Revan, I couldn't help but notice something, but are you sure that Remnant that you brought here the day Yang left was Ruby's father?" this question made Summer's heart sink into her stomach, "Cause I noted her eyes reminded me more of Revan than yours, was Mical or Taiyang not enough for you? Or could you simply not control yourself around him?" Summer felt her face turn red as Satele accused her of adultery. Satele opened her mouth to continue on but Summer had enough of her and force pushed her back out the doorway and closed the door.

"Thanks for the answer," Satele said disgustedly as the grandmaster stood up, and walked away.

* * *

Away from the scrutiny of Tython, Jaune who was now effectively an outcast from the Jedi as he was associated with Artorika, despite his newfound status, he was still a Jedi and not all Jedi were against Artorika especially those in the Embassy on Coruscant which is were Jaune and Artorika were going to be stationed for the next few months.

After landing the two knights got off the shuttle they had taken to Coruscant, Artorika had a droid unload their things as Jaune was due to have a meeting with Ambassador to the Senate, Lie Ren. In a few minutes though Lie Ren was already awaiting them on the landing pad as he stood there clad in his green robes as Jaune approached in his blue plated robes. Lie Ren gave him a pleasant smile, and gave him a pleasant greeting that consisted of,

"Welcome to the Coruscant Embassy, Jaune," Lie Ren smiled as he gestured for him to follow him inside the embassy proper. Once inside Lie Ren asked a long question of his old friend, "So what you said in that report Jaune, is that Ruby Weiss and Pyrrha attacked the ship to free Nora and then scuttled it?" Ren inquired just to recap his story as they walked along, Jaune noted that Lie Ren's Robes different now they were long and green with brown accents along with a pink lotus pattern on it. Despite his youth, he looked and carried himself like a Jedi that had decades of knowledge and wisdom. The two Jedi were a dichotomy, one a sage, and a pacifist the other a warrior and an honorable knight. Lie Ren continued with "and in your private message to me you told me that you know Summer can manipulate people's minds. Hence why CVFY, CRDL, and SSSN are now Jedi, Correct?"

"Yes," Jaune said understanding Lie Ren's skepticism, "As crazy as that sounds that is correct." Jaune continued as looked over to his Jedi Sage friend, Jaune voice had a slight quiver to it, as he felt horrible for what he said and thought back on that damn ship. If he hadn't seen how much Summer can manipulate a person, he couldn't believe what he wished for on the pride of Alderaan.

"With how events have been falling in line Jaune, I fear Ruby and our friends being Sith will be the least of our worries, I fear for what is to come and it won't be by Ruby's hand that these events transpire. Though I think your observation as ludicrous as they sound to you have merit to them, Surik is planning something," Lie Ren Spoke calmly, believing his friend, "I also fear for Blake's for well-being"

"She was on Drommund Kaas for the Hiskal operation, though she wouldn't tell me what had happened there, all I know is it was a massive blunder of an operation," Jaune said disheartened, remembering how Blake freaked out on him before continuing with, "From what I heard she really beat up too."

"I would concur, from what Satele said she took a lot of blaster fire," Lie Ren frowned as the teammates walked on through the Embassy. "From what Master Satele told me, you refused to inform the council of who we were dealing with,-"

"I know, I was just very troubled at the time, I mean four people I respected a lot, decimated a ship full of people, and I didn't know what to feel okay!" Jaune blurted out, interrupting his friend who put his hand on his armored shoulder in a gesture of understanding.

"Jaune, I couldn't imagine what I would do in your place," Ren admitted, as he had no way to know how he would react, especially considering, "I am sorry to make you remember, but I have to ask, how was Nora?" Lie Ren asked his voice quiet almost seemingly ashamed as his Jedi facade cracked and his heart was exposed. It was at this moment Jaune quivered, he had no idea how to respond to this, after a second's hesitation, he decided to tell his friend the truth.

"She was the person that was leading the people the sand people on Tatooine, she is also the reason Ruby, Weiss, and Pyrrha attacked the ship," Jaune explained calmly, though with each word his voice gained apprehension, eventually explaining, "as how she's doing, she seemed broken, absolutely insane and violent," This line seemingly made Lie Ren very distraught. He wondered what Nora would do without him and it seemed he got an answer.

"Well thank you, Jaune,"Ren smiled faintly and fakely, though he quickly continued with, "Though with all that is going on I fear Ruby and our friends will be the least of our concerns as things advance" Lie Ren explained as he approached a window that gave a clear view of the cityscape outside.

"I know there is something going on and it is aggravating not knowing what it is!" Jaune said maintaining his stoic demeanor, though the venom and frustration in his voice could be heard.

"And I fear it is so much bigger than us Jaune," Lie Ren replied calmly, though he quickly shifted the topic and said, "You and Master Artorika are welcome to stay here for as long as you need, I could really use the help," Lie Ren smiled as he was getting a bit behind in some of his work, but Jaune seemed to be relieved, as he shook his hand and said

"Thank you," after the exchange of pleasantries, Jaune regrouped with Artorika at the location of the room that was to be their quarters. At which point Artorika suggested it was the time that he replace his lightsaber. After a few hours of work, they were sitting in their quarters. Artorika had requested that he allow her to assist in the building of his second lightsaber as she had made numerous parts for him to use, and the Embassy did have a forge used for lightsaber repair and crafting which they did take advantage of. Jaune had gone too long without a lightsaber. The saber parts Artorika had given him were elegant, fitting the design style of her own as the parts were being formed into a unique weapon building upon the master's design. Once the frame of the saber was complete Jaune looked at the rough form with an approving smile as this design he was trying to achieve was a difficult one to pull off, an intersecting crossguard. Though Artorika had helped Jaune by sourcing the parts he needed.

"Thank you for all of the parts, Artorika," Jaune spoke softly in a pseudo-meditation as he began to assemble the parts using the force.

"It's no trouble," Artorika spoke with a pleasant smile "I must thank you once again for standing with me, it takes a noble person to stand against the flow like that."

"Well what Surik is doing is wrong, she made them into Jedi unwillingly, from what I know forcing someone where they don't leads to bad things as seen many times," Jaune spoke calmly, "one name I can think of is Malserik."

"There is an argument to be made there, he is the reason Jedi have regulations on family, marriage, and children now," Artorika said saddened as some Jedi were rabid about this new doctrine, "He hated the Jedi for what they did to his family, he was a man of noble value, honor-bound, and willing to do things the right way," Artorika spoke lamenting about her friend who fell to the dark.

"from the way you have talked about him, he sounds like he would have been a great Jedi," Jaune said with a smile as he brought some more of the parts together. "Personally, I believe everyone has the ability to redeem themselves, they may still be judged for their crimes but if they accept punishment for them or atone for them, they have been redeemed."

"Well put Jaune," Artorika smiled serenely, "Revan was redeemed even after he declared war on the Republic. Though right now I am worried about the state of the Jedi order especially after that mission."

"I know the feeling, Blake is keeping to herself, not even Karlile can get through to her," Jaune said concerned as he kept assembling the saber as he talked, as he remembered how Blake retaliated to what he said before the mission, if Jaune could claim to feel shame for anything it was the fact he didn't release the fact that Ruby was a Sith. he regretted not telling the Jedi the full truth, and Artorika knew this though unlike certain elements of the council, she could understand why he did that.

"Then you have the council attacking Satele for what happened on Drommund Kaas, I fear with the full revelation Surik's abilities that she may be behind it, Though I will not go after that possibility until I have proof of manipulation," Artorika spoke to Jaune as the saber came to is final stages of assembly, "And then we have the scrutiny on us for our beliefs on the redemption of Malserik. If we are not careful, I fear the Jedi may end up walking down the same dark path as the Sith," Artorika admitted plainly as Jaune had his saber within completion, he just needed assembling the crystals he had including the one off of his necklace given to him by the Gungans.

"You said you had a crystal to put in this saber?" Jaune asked as he set the saber down as Artorika pulled out a box and opened it exposing a sapphire colored gem.

"Jaune, this is an Ankarres Sapphire. This has been in my family for generations, a lightsaber with this crystal can only be wielded by a paladin of the light," Artorika said pleasantly, "I swore this crystal would go to a Jedi who is pure of heart and knightly in character, You are that Jedi Jaune."

"I am honored, but you find me to be of that character?" Jaune asked nervously, unsure of what to make of Artorika's judgment of his character.

"You have stood against darkness both at my side and alone and you don't even show the slightest taint of it, that scar on you face shows you are willing to sacrifice to face the darkness. if you can wield that crystal, you have earned it." Artorika said as she put the crystal in the saber and sealed the casing. Jaune picked up the saber the hilt heating in his hand though it cooled quickly and standing he ignited the blade of the unique cross guard saber in front of him, covering the darkened room with the deep blue light emitting off the blade, the offset angled off the guard looked quite impressive ignited. Artorika inspected the saber herself and spoke, "You are worthy Jaune Arc of both your saber and the first to call themselves a Jedi Paladin!" Her voice was proud with a bit of cheer as she pronounced the Remnant Jedi with a title that made him raise an eyebrow.

"You made that up, there is no Jedi Paladin title," Jaune chuckled at his former master though her reply was one that solidified her beliefs in him and removed all doubts in his character.

"Not yet but there will be and I think you may become the first, Jaune Arc," Artorika said, "though that reminds, me a paladin requires a shield," Artorika said with a smile, she took out the old shield he brought with him from remnant, the shield of Crocea Mors and handed it to Jaune in its collapsed state. As he took it from her hands, he realized it felt lighter than it did years ago, it looked unchanged minus the change in color palette. So the young knight figured he might just be stronger now than he was. Though one concern ran through his mind as he deployed the shield and spoke,

"Well a shield is great and all but its kind of useless against a lightsaber," Jaune spoke with a smile though voicing his concerns, but it was at that moment Artorika smiled in a way that reminded him of one of his sisters.

"Well you would be correct but..." Artorika said as she ignited her gold bladed lightsaber and struck at Jaune's shield. Instead of cutting through the metal, the blade was stopped. Jaune had a look of pure shock on his face as the humming blade crackled on the shield, "phrik alloy plating, an old friend told me of it considering his Saber is made of it."

"Old friend?" Jaune asked as he got a chill up his spine as he heard that. He could guess who it was. Artorika deactivated her saber and said,

"Yes. I do mean Viridian," Artorkia said sadly, it was at this point Jaune put his saber and shield down and put his hand on royal Jedi's shoulder.

"You miss him a lot don't you?" Jaune asked calmly despite the fact he could guess the answer.

"Yes I do, he was one of my few friends when I first arrived, he was nice and very honorable, always looking for alternatives to violence, and a genius of a scientist and his saber reflected that. The council didn't like how attached he was to his family, as he wanted to go back to his parents and see them proud of him," Artorika spoke as her normally noble voice quivered with sadness. To her, it was not a senseless act but a tragedy that caused Malserik to turn against the Jedi.

"I know we can get him back, if he still a good person," Jaune said with a bright smile, hoping that such bright mind would actually not hold a permanent scorn towards the Jedi, Artorika was just as hopeful but there was a glimmer of acceptance that Malserik may never come back and she couldn't blame him after what just happened with the Jedi.

* * *

On Tython, in the cold and dark, Blake sat in her quarters in the quietness of solitude. She had numerous saber parts in front of her. She needed a saber that she could combat that abomination of a lightsaber that Ruby used. Her body ached in a reminder of what that 'bitch' had done to her, as she had most of her body covered in stark white bandages to cover her wounded body as she dawned black and gray robes over them. Though these bandages had lost some of their whiteness occasional stains of blood and plasma. Like her robes, her makeup choices darkened. To some on the council, it was only a matter of time till 'she wields the Darkside and a red blade.'

Blake was insulted by these comments, she would never steep as low as to use the Darkside. she was a Jedi, or at least she identified herself as a Jedi. After her traumatic injuries, Blake had been training how to better use the feline in her blood by training her body to be as nimble and flexible as possible, as a Jedi shadow should be. As she focused on being nimble she based her new saber design on this principle a shorter paired saber set connected by a cable while still retaining the legs for using as a reading light, one thing she refused to omit as the one thing keeping her sane was her reading. The cable between the sabers was to allow for a fighting style like that of Gambol Shroud, something Ruby or any Sith would not expect. Assembling the saber design, she smiled as it came together before her. Taking two more of the same crystals she used in the original Candlelight, she tested the candle flame like blade. She smiled at it ignition as she held it up as her damaged feline ear twitched.

"Ruby you will pay for your crimes with your blood, I swear this upon my oath as a Jedi," Blake said solemnly as she held up her other saber, looking at cable she retracted the inactivate saber on tho the active as they connected with a firm snap. Holding the saber hilts connected in front of her she read the Aurebesh scrolled across the middle,

Fallen Rose, the path you walk and your actions cannot be forgiven. Thus you must face justice, your blood will pay for your sins in full.

It was a reminder who her enemy was, who her rival was, who she wanted to bring to justice. That cheerful girl that was her former team leader was now dead, replaced by a monster with a light-scythe, capable of murder and destruction. Repressing her emotions the darkened Jedi walked out into the corridor of the Tython Jedi temple, Blake was a shadow in the bright halls casting a dark aura upon those that passed her. Save for one for a golden monkey faunus who tried to shine a light on the downcast Jedi's heart.

"Hey Blake long time no see," Sun said introducing himself which initially shocked the cat faunus as she had no Idea that Sun had been found and had been made into a Jedi. To Blake, she wanted to smile, but she had matters to attend to, mainly her training so instead, she grumbled at the fellow Faunus, who wore a White and Yellow Gi with his tail wrapped around his belt, his saber on prominent display. "Look I know something's bothering you. You can talk to me you know?"

"Leave me alone," She spoke, dismissing her old friend and continued walking. The rest of SSSN tried to get her attention, joined by CRDL and CVFY, but as soon as one of them put their hand on her shoulder, Blake disintegrated into shadow. revealing what they were following was just a clone, while Blake had escaped into the shadows. Though upon reaching the training grounds a Jedi who was serving the role of a messenger, informed Blake that she had a holocomm call from Lie Ren on Coruscant. She shook her head at the young padawan and said,

"Tell him I am not able to talk at the moment, please," Blake said with a frown, she had to make sure she was ready for her next encounter with Ruby, and that she could bring her to justice.

* * *

Returning to Coruscant, Lie Ren sighed, he figured his call would get denied, but it was worth a shot. Though he looked at another message that had popped up on his terminal, it was from Jaune, and it read,

Hey, Ren I just finished my new lightsaber, I want to practice with it if you are up for it?

This invitation got Ren to smile as he had been shirking his velocities for the past few months, and he could use the exercise, as he had been dealing with the senate for too long. Making sure his desk was secure and left his heavy outer robe on his chair. He was criticized for how young he was by some elements of the Jedi council and the Senate, but for the youngest Master in the order, he held his position well. Though it left little free time as he was either dealing with the council or senators. Now he had a friend he could talk to again.

Walking to the courtyard Ren looked out one of the hallway windows looking at the twilight of the day, He smiled as velocities always looked better in the dark. Though as he walked on towards the courtyard he couldn't help but worry for Nora. He felt his heart being tugged, he could only imagine the pain that Nora went through to be changed in such a way. It horrified him that his friend a person he knew his entire life after his home was attacked had turned down the dark path. It was at this point Lie Ren reigned himself in by mentally saying _Get a hold of yourself Ren, don't let your emotions get the better of you._

As he continued walking he reached the courtyard where Jaune and Artorika were waiting, Lie Ren immediately noted that his Jedi Knight friend was clad in heavy armor that meshed well with his Jedi Robes. After Lie Ren entered the courtyard, Ren asked his old friend if he was ready to start to which Jaune answered yes and ignited his crossguarded lightsaber, and the two engaged in their spar under the watchful eye of Artorika. Lie Ren relied heavily on defense though when he went on the offensive, Jaune deployed his shield and pushed him back on the defensive, something that surprised Lie Ren this shifting in who was on the offensive was a staple of their velocities, but after half an hour of sparring they both relented tired, as Lie Ren had one question on his mind, which he asked to Jaune,

"How can a shield resist a lightsaber?" Ren asked as normally a lightsaber would make short work of a shield like that.

"Something called Phrik alloy, Artorika had this upgraded for me" Jaune smiled as Lie Ren nodded, as Artorika added into the conversation with,

"I figured Jaune would like having something like that," She admitted with a smile, as Jaune was making very good use of the shield, but after regaining their breath they continued with the Sparring into the night.

* * *

Returning to Remnant, in the dark and gloomy ruins Salem called home, the mad woman and her minions were preparing to enact the first act of her plan. Looking through a black and smokey crystal of dust, the type made famous with the Amity incident, Looking into the crystal, focusing into the crystal with the force, Salem watched the events in the distant galaxy unfolding before her eyes, like a rose in bloom. She had been watching the foolish fallen Jedi and his menagerie until she had finally broken through to Tython. __The dark side must be growing where the Jedi least expect it.__ Salem smiled as her crystal focused on a faunus and someone she knew, her lost apprentice, Cinder Fall. This made the wicked witch of a Sith smile, _w_ _ _ell now I have an agent in the Jedi. No, not yet. Cinder you wound me with your amnesiac defiance!__ Salem said theatrically in her head. __I will awaken you soon Cinder, but first I must test the ability of Nihilus pets, and I have the perfect place Nar Shaddaa.__

* * *

On Tython, deep in the brig of the temple, Master Surik was looking for a specific prisoner as she had an idea on how to kill Viridian, and gain the trust of the entire council after which she would cast out the noncompliant of the order, like Artorika, Jaune, and Satele, though her plans went even further than that as now the republic was giving them hell for losing all of those troops on Drommund Kaas. Passing the energy shielded doors to the cells containing Criminals and Prisoners of War. Though she was looking for one cell, in particular, one that housed a Jedi killer. He had resisted her attempts to rewrite his mind but she had the best leverage for a man like him. Reaching the deepest corners of the prison complex, she saw his cell and smiled as she walked up to the door to see the man inside laid back on his bed, speaking into the Cell intercom the White Clad Jedi said,

"Zaffre Malserik, I have a job for you, and it's one you can't refuse," Surik said with a wicked grin as Zaffre rolled his eyes at her, though what she had to say had him horrified.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that's the end of the Rewrite only took me 7 – 8 months to do, I am so happy everyone bore with this stage of the story and finally the story will advance beyond the original point of the original Chapter 8! I would like to thank everyone who read this Story, it means a lot to me that over a hundred people have followed this story of mine. I mean this has been a massive project for me to undertake but I love it!**

 **I will be taking a week to review what I have written if I have the time, correcting issues in all the prior chapters as I come across them, making little touch ups as needed as well, this minor clean up will be released with Chapter 41 which will be new content from what I had of the unpublished Chapter 9!**

 **Well with all of this in mind it's time for review responses:**

 **ToxicGentleman: Well, wait and see.**

 **So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose! With that said I would like to ask for opinions if you can give them. Like how is the story doing? for those who have been around long enough How does this version compair to the original? Stuff like that. Thank you for your time!**

 **Blitzing Raptor**


	41. Chapter 41: Independence

**A/N: Well here we go, the plot is starting up its engines again and is starting to chug down the tracks. So here we go with the first new plot chapter Chapter 41: Independence! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Independence**

* * *

While the battle raged on Nar Shaddaa, and Events transpired in the Galaxy at large the Star Forge and the Revanites had been plotting away in their secluded space station. The Revanite forces had arrived on the Star Forge clad in their masked black and red robes, they formed a cult around Star Forge. Fully forming the Order of Revan. They had managed to consolidate all of their order to the Star Forge. The leader of the order a Sith lord by the Name of Tari Darkspanner had brought her Order from Drommund Kaas along with a Darth Arkous and Rian Darok. They had brought all that they could on a small flotilla of civilian ships which were all docked to ports all across the massive Rakattan station.

They were working around the clock to prepare for Revan's plans to eliminate Vitiate, building up massive reserves of Droids and Ships. In this time Yang found herself in a very awkward position, as Revan's apprentice, she held a lot of sway over the Revanites, She liked the power she had as Revan had her by his side at most times as her training was finally nearing completion. She felt the power she had ascertained by walking the fine line in the middle of light and dark, it was a comforting thought knowing that she would be able to operate on her own, independent of anyone.

Sitting in her quarters looking out towards the Stars, the now pale blonde haired former Jedi and Huntress sat thinking of the adventures this galaxy could unlock for her, though that was after she found her sister, that was her top priority. One that caused her to put her hand on the window that lead out to the void and say, "Sis, I am coming, just please be okay when I find you," She was worried about her sister even with the information that they were not related by blood didn't dissuade her, Ruby was still her Sister, and she hadn't seen her in years. Yang knew she would be different, but how different she thought, as she looked out into the twinkling void. Was she a Sith? Was she a mere citizen, who did Ruby become? She had no way of knowing, all Yang hoped for was that she was still kind and wanting to do the right thing, though, from her knowledge of the force and the Sith, that could be unlikely if she embraced that power.

Then came that gilded eyed Sith, Yang had seen that woman so many times in her visions yet she didn't understand her in the slightest, minus the fact that she was a Sith. At first she seemed like a boogyman to the young at the time Jedi, a monster that needed to be slain, but as it stood now she seemed like a friend she hadn't met yet, as in her dreams and visions she fought alongside the gilded-eyed Sith with the red cross guarded saber though with numerous other people alongside them, the Sith with and Icy blue blade, the Sith with the crackling orange blade, and the Sith with pulsing pink blade. Then she even got some glimpses of people that looked like Roman Torchwick, Penny, and that tricolored bitch that tried to murder her on that train years ago on Remnant, which further posed a question to Yang's mind, _Why would I work with them? Why would they be on our side?_

Yang was utterly confused by these allies, though in her visions they were seemingly her allies, and the blonde apprentice didn't know how to feel about that. She would have pondered that some more though the door to her quarters opened and Tari entered not wasting any time she asked,

"My lady, have you packed your belongings?" Yang wanted to grumble at this question as she had most of her things ready to go, she was excited for this day to come, she was finally going to be leaving the Star Forge. Along with that, she hated being called a lady, it made her feel like she was a Sith, though according to Revan that is how Sith showed respect,

"I have, Tari," Yang replied liked she would to a nagging mother, as she used the force to grab the only things left that she had not packed, Ember and Ash, her lightsabers. Ember was the same as the day she arrived on the Star Forge, but Ash was her new saber to replace the one she lost leaving the temple, and it was distinctly different a bent hilt with a Sith red blade, she didn't much care for this change but it worked, "I take its time?" Yang inquired, as she walked over to the door, preparing to leave if this was the case.

"Yes, it is time, My lady, Revan requested that I escort you to the conference room" Tari bowed moving out of the way allowing the now six foot tall woman to pass by her, Yang had a light smile on her face she was finally going to be set free, and Revan had made her a promise as a motivation to complete her training, when her training was complete, he would give her Ruby's location.

* * *

Following Tari, the blonde Revanite grinned, as the thought of _I am finally done here, I can finally go._ Despite the training being fun, Yang always felt alone on this station, she really didn't connect that well with Revan despite him being a good teacher. He was too obsessed with his own plans at times to really socialize and there was also the fact he wasn't very good at socializing, nor over the course of the years she spent on the Star Forge did she ever really have anyone to talk to, so she was quite lonely. even the newly arrived Revanites weren't much better as they were more of a cult than anything.

Walking down the dimly lit corridors Yang saw the Revanites carrying out their daily tasks, making sure the station was ready to accept their incoming brothers who were going to be arriving in the coming months. They were going to be preparing to strike at the Sith Emperor, Vitiate, then reform the empire in the image of Revan. Yang, however, cared for none of that, to her she only cared about finding her sister and this whole elimination of Vitiate was a means to an end and that end was her motivation throughout her training. After this was all over she just wanted stand by and protect the galaxy from its dangers.

Though the blond brawler, also lamented the changes her body had undergone during this training due to her constant skimming of the Darkside, had not gone unnoticed first she lost pigment in her skin becoming absurdly pale, then her right eye locked to red like it did when her semblance activated, then her hair faded in color from its normally golden yellow to a more normal blonde coloration. The last one being the most annoying to the brawler, as her gold mane, was what she was the most known for, but she was willing to accept the change for the power boost it gave, as the force was a good compensation for the matter. Despite this change, she still grew it out again though she kept it in a long braid to prevent it from becoming an issue in combat. Anothercaviot was that her appearance went well with her long black robes with though instead of red Yang decided to use a faded yellow to match her hair color, but the style still resembled her masters.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking and an elevator ride, Yang and Tari arrived at the door that leads to the conference room. Tari quickly clicked the control to open the door. With a hiss, the large metallic door opened allowing Yang to hear a conversation inside the room,

"So Arkous, Darth Imperious is the one you suspect to be the leader of the reconstituted Visorium order?" Inquired as voice that sounded like Revan with his mask on, he seemed more interested than usual, which caused who Yang recognized as Arkous to respond with,

"Yes Lord Revan, Though they are small and seem to only operate in the Empire," Arkous said as the door fully opened with a loud ka-chunk, which got all heads to turn to face Yang and Tari, who entered and took a seat as Revan, gestured for Arkous to continue. "Well out intel on the Visoriums is really quite circumstantial, though we have confirmation they do exist from one of our Revanites, and from the intelligence we have we can deduce that all arrows lead to Hiskal, and that city is a fortress and infiltration has proven difficult."

"I would expect nothing less from Malserik" Tari explained calmly, Malserik was a name that Yang knew well. As a matter of fact, she had Revan see if he could get her some information on the traitorous Jedi, as they were both disavowed Jedi, and that made Yang sympathize with the man, especially when she read up on his past, she understood why he left, she would have too. But after that thought, Tari continued with, "He has withstood infiltration for many years, he as impenetrable foothold further reinforced by the loyal civilian population as they do report suspicious activity to his private guard force."

"I know of this," Revan replied calmly, he had been keeping an eye on the order for quite some time now, "I personally think they are very sympathetic to our cause, they even might have the same end goal as us," Revan explained in a way that shocked Yang as she could tell what he was going to propose to the Revanites which her theory was proven when her master continued with, "With that in mind I would like to propose we form an alliance with the Visorium order, and my apprentice will serve as the ambassador," This line made Yang's eyes go wide as she sat at the table. She was not diplomat nor had any skills to be a Diplomat, The leaders of the Revanites all turned to face the uncomfortable blonde as Revan declared,

"Yang Xiao Long, your final trial is to come," Revan spoke his voice dramatic and confident as to not appear weak to the Revanites," so please follow me, Yang, the meeting is adjourned," Revan announced dismissing the council of Revanites, gesturing for Yang to follow him out of the room. Walking down the dimly lit corridors Yang knew where Revan was leading her to, the hangers. As the walked far enough away from the Revanites, Revan spoke his voice reverberating through his mask, "Yang, I have not forgotten my promise, you will see Ruby soon," Revan said with a pleasant almost fatherly tone, "I just need you to handle this task for me," Yang groaned lightly in discontent as her posture relaxed as she asked,

"So what exactly do you want me to do?" the blonde asked as she followed behind her master, who's reply was quite simple,

"you locate and represent me to the Visorium Order, see if you can get them to join our cause, and if you cannot do that, try to at least convince the Knights of Hiskal to join our cause," this got Yang to raise an eyebrow, she had never heard of the 'Knights of Hiskal' before, so she, of course, had to ask,

"Knights of Hiskal?" Yang inquired as she walked along behind Revan, who stopped for a second to answer, seemingly unnerved by the question

"They are just Sith, four female humans potentially Remnant's like you if the rumors are to be believed," Revan spoke a half truth, "They alone would be powerful allies to our cause," Revan explained fully knowing who one member of the knights was. With that explanation, Yang smiled and responded with,

"Understood, it shall be done, my master," Yang spoke seemingly mocking how the former Sith elements of the Revanites always said that when Revan gave them an order.

"Yang, you are going to Drommund Kaas, please do try to be respectful of the Sith, they don't take kindly to disrespect," Revan mused, "But to get you to Drommund Kaas I have your method of transport," Revan smiled as he opened a door to one of the larger hangers, inside Yang saw the ship she came to the Star Forge on the Ebon Hawk, though the old freighter had been repainted from its old Republic paint scheme to Sith navy grey and black scheme at which point, Revan continued with "Yang I have had the Ebon Hawk refitted for your ownership, also T3-M4 will accompany you, but she is now your ship, may she serve you as well as she did for me," Revan said with a smile beneath his mask, "but I have one last matter to attend to," Revan spoke calmly, prompting Yang to ask,

"And what would that be?" her voice sounded of a muted excitement, she was happy she was getting a ship, but she was hoping for something a bit more modern, like a BT-7 or an XS Light Freighter, but alas the old venerable ship would have to do, and the fact of it was, The Ebon Hawk was now her ship.

"Well you are an apprentice of mine and Revanites are known for wearing Masks, So I had this made for you," Revan smiled as he pulled a mask from under his robes it was a simple rounded black metal mask with a slot visor and an asymmetric faded yellow strip with Yang's emblem in the line as a black marking, which Revan handed to Yang who examined the Mask before deciding to place it upon her face, just to see how it felt. It was cold, but it was comfortable, obviously designed for long term use, but Masks weren't really the blonde's thing, though she spoke through the mask to say,

"Thank you, Revan," Yang said, her voice being edited and distorted by the vocabulator within the mask, "If that is all, I have a long journey ahead of me," Yang spoke once again, hearing her voice getting distorted by the mask. Showing Revan that she had slight impatience to get going.

"That is all Yang Xiao Long, Goodbye and may the force be with you," Revan said taking his mask off, as he said that and gave her a final wave as Yang walked toward the ship.

* * *

Entering the Ebon Hawk, Yang was greeted by the beeping of T3, which she now understood, and to which Yang replied by saying, "Yes, let's get this thing flying!" Yang said as she darted up to the cockpit of the Hawk as the rumble of the engines turned on, and the ship darted out of the hanger of the Star Forge. Yang sighed, She was free.

After a few Chirps from T3, the Ship entered Hyperspace and Yang's journey was underway with the blue vortex of the faster than light travel. She Relaxed in the cockpit chair, she knew it would take a month or two to reach Drommund Kaas. So she had to keep fit and mentally sound in that time, so she took off her mask and smiled after so long the twenty-year-old Yang smiled she had a ship, she had a way to look for Ruby after all of this time she could look for her long lost sister.

Yang was hopeful that she would find her soon, and the first world she was going to search was going to be Drommund Kaas, a world that as a Jedi she could never hope to reach, content with a smile she dozed off into a light sleep, though it wasn't long until that sleep was disturbed by a sharp jab on to her right side which caused her to jolt up to the sound of what as sounded like laughter, but it was just T3 beeping at her. After she noticed this fact she yelled,

"What the hell you tin can!" Yang screamed as she leaped to her feet, wanting to smash the droid for disturbing her but after a few quick and rapid-fire chirps and beeps that urge was quelled as the droid explained there was a message from Revan in the central holocom terminal in the main hold of the ship. Getting up Yang walked down the path to the main hold, and took a seat at the quarter circle couch facing the holocomm, looking at the circular console and said, "Alright T3 play me the message," T3 chirped as he plugged into the console and a hologram of Revan appeared and began to speak.

"Yang Xiao Long, I prepared this message for you, as my apprentice your objectives remain the same, but I felt you deserved to know something about the four Knights of Hiskal," A blue bust like hologram of Revan was projected on the central console in the main hold. Yang sighed with the thought _this'll be good._ Unsure of what to expect she reclined back and wondered why he just didn't tell her this information.

"They are Remnant's this is fact, not a mere assumption. You should know all four of them and you need to get comfortable with who they are and steel yourself for the truth." these words coming from the unmasked Revan, rang in Yang's ear, almost like she was in a doctor's office being diagnosed with a terminal illness. After a second's pause, the hologram continued, "hopefully you are ready for the names of the Knights. They go as follow Nora Valkyrie," Yang gasped as her eyes went wide in shock at seeing Nora's face as an image popped up on the display, she looked older, as expected, though she appeared corrupted Yang, herself knew the price of the Darkside but Nora looked fully immersed in it with her faded hair and sulfuric yellow eyes, along with the weird tattoo on half of her face. Even more concerning was the insane smile Nora had in the image

. "Pyrrha Nikos," The hologram continued, Like Nora, Pyrrha looked completely immersed in the dark side her normally red hair faded to a light pink color, while her eyes were a luminous red, seemingly filled with hatred and anger. The purple spot with the line looked out of place but Yang barely noticed due to her hair be let down in the image. Continuing on Revan's Hologram announced,

"Weiss Schnee," This one shocked Yang a lot as Weiss's picture looked extremely odd as her shortened hair seemed to be covering something on the left side of her face, it took Yang a moment to realize she had an eyepatch on, which was discomforting, but Yang was relieved to see that she didn't look as corrupted as Nora and Pyrrha. In the given few seconds one thought was playing on a loop in Yang's mind _Please don't let the last one be who I think it is._ She thought as the hologram of Revan showed his apprehension, which concerned the blonde apprentice even more. Then after a break where he looked to be composing himself, he spoke,

"And the last is Ruby Rose," The image popped up and Yang stood up wanting to punch the console, but it was at that moment she also wanted to scream in horror as she noticed something, the now golden eyes of her sister stared into her soul they were those eyes that haunted Yang and that was her sister she could tell despite all of the changes that it was her. Her legs weakened, she collapsed, Ember and Ash on her belt clanged on the metallic floor as she fell. The message by this point had flipped to another image. It showed all four cloaked with their Lightsaber's and it was in that moment Yang realized who the Sith she feared was, her own sister. She held the bloody red cross guarded lightsaber. At this point, tears started to well in Yang's eyes as this realization, her sister, that sweet little girl that was Ruby had grown up into a Sith with golden eyes.

With the sight of her sister like that Yang quivered as all of her visions of Ruby flashed back into her mind. She wanted to cry, she just wanted to sit there and bawl her eyes out, as she stared at that image, they were all together, each of them a Sith each holding their lightsabers which corresponded to the ones in her dreams, she could never see any of them becoming Sith, let alone those Sith from her visions. With that, she screamed,

"WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!" She repeated till she ran out of breath, after which she rested her head against her knees, there was one part of her mind that was telling her, 'be happy she's alive,' though the rest of her mind was focused on the fact Ruby was now a Sith and could be an enemy to Jaune Blake and Ren. Looking back up she saw footage being played on the console, it was lightsaber combat from far away through what looked like a sniper scope, as she focused on it T3rewinded it to the beginning for the blonde.

* * *

In the footage, she saw a massive fortress that was burning in a light snow at night. She saw what appeared to be Sith troops storming the fortress from three landed ships she saw a darkly cloaked figure walk out from the shadows and stand by one of the ships with the rear guardsthough like a bolt of glowing red lightning she saw a bright red blur dart out of the fortress as the cloaked figure ignited their yellowish lightsaber to block the incoming strike which was Ruby as expected. As Ruby threw a punch and the cloaked figurewith drew and lowered her hood Yang's urge to punch grew as she saw two black feline ears, it was Blake. To which she could see a pause in the combat, it was evident they recognized each other and were talking, at which point she could see that Ruby's lightsaber was so much more that acrossguarded lightsaber. though much to Yang's surprise theyreengaged in combat. She watched horrified that Blake seemed to be the aggressor they kept fighting till Blake got a solid hit on Ruby then attempted to impale her something that broke Ruby's aura, Watching with Horror Yang saw Ruby take a strike to the face though Ruby Recoiled back into the fight, blasting out red force lightning at Blake as her Aurapulsed back and shifted her lightsaber into a scythe mode and then proceeded go insane on Blake, Kicking her in her spine, throwing a large Duracrete slab at her, which was an impressive feat, then Ruby threw one of the Starships that Blake was standing on then she saw Blake get snagged in glyphs though she didn't see Weiss anywhere though it was at that point she realized that Ruby was the one that summoned them though Blake broke free and slammed Ruby back knocking her down and looked to be ready to strike the Coup De Gras, Which made Yang scream out wondering why Blake would do that, though it was at that moment the cross-hair focused on Blake and with a bunch of flashes from what Yang could only assume was a blaster rifle Blake fellon to the ground before Ruby who recovered from the blast as another Jedi leaped out of the fortress which the sniper tried to shoot though the bolt was redirected back at the camera at which point the feed cut.

* * *

Yang reclined in shock of what she had just watched, her eyes wide with the thought of, _They tried to kill each other, what has this galaxy done to us all?_ Yang asked herself as she rested her head in her hands as more tears flowed forward when T3 beeped at her, informing her that there was more content in the message. To which her response was, "I don't care, I want to get to Drommund Kaas as soon as possible," Yang said firmly as she went to the beds on the ship she needed rest. As she laid down, her mind was going wild, The Jedi knew were Ruby was and Yang didn't know if her mother was acting on that information, though judging how it was Blake that fought her, she figured she wasn't going to act, though that raised the question in Yang's mind, _Would Ruby even want to join her?_ Judging by how Ruby resisted Blake, it was going a no, She figured Ruby was to encroached in the Sith to even contemplate leaving to join her Mother. Yang cursed as she remembered her promise that she made back on Tython, one that she would never join the Sith. She cursed out, as she found a part of her mind was contemplating joining her, as one line went off in her mind, 'Maybe if Ruby joined the Sith, maybe they aren't so bad,' Though a humorous thought also entered her mind, "or they just offered her strawberries and cookies." Chuckling at that though Yang relaxed, as it was going to be a long journey but it was one with a destination, Something she had lacked for years now. After a few minutes of calming down, she returned to the central console to see if Revan had any final words for her, which he did, as another hologram opened revealing Revan's face as the message played,

"Yang, I know all this information is a shock to you, so I have a new order to add to your mission, go be with your sister, you still are her sister, just please get me in contact with her, and the Visorium order, Good Luck and May the Force be with you," Revan explained as Yang smiled as she realized this was his plan, and she had a decision in front of her, but that was to be made later, right now she had a long journey to make and all she had to keep her from going insane was that droid, but she would cope with it if she could get in contact with Ruby once more.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, Yang's back in the picture and she is on her way to Ruby, I wanted to start the new chapter off with a Yang (Sorry couldn't help it, I wrote an entire chapter with out Yang giving a single pun so yeah, forgive me). I had thoughts about which section I would do first and I figured I should handle Yang's first, as she hasn't had nearly as much time as she should have had. With that I am going to handle the Reviews, this is going to be fun.**

 **hornofdesolation: Well here it is, it took me long enough, though now that I think about it not many stories survive the kind of rewrite process I did, but hey determination.**

 **KingHoborg: I will take a look at it when I feel like it, for now, I want to progress the story and fix earlier issues, but I will take a look at adding more to them. Thank you for that!**

 **DuskDragonDeltaxd: Well you sir have earned the honor of being the first person on the internet to give me a threat and ultimatum! On the internet that's a sign I am doing something right! But in all seriousness, Wait and See! (Note, I get where your coming from I have stopped reading stories because some one died with out proper cause.)**

 **Guest: Thanks, man!**

 **Well with that out of the way, Next chapter will carry on were Nar Shaddaa left off, and it gonna be Grimm, so that will be a thing, (I was tempted to make it the last of the three chapter 9 chapters but I am not that evil, I think.) With that out of the way I would like to inform everyone there could be another slow down in my writing as my coursework is starting to pile high, but I will try to get one or two more out this month and also have one done for May the Fourth if all goes right. So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


	42. Chapter 42: Grimm Darkness

**A/N: Happy May the Fourth! Sorry for the delay, my course work piled up hard along with a nice dab of writer's block, personal life, and distractions. With that out of the way, here is Chapter 42: Grimm Darkness.**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: Grimm Darkness**

* * *

Returning to the battle on Nar Shaddaa, the conflict raged between the two Sith and the Remnants of Cinder's little faction. Pyrrha dealing with Emerald, as Nora battled Mercury. Moving like a dance of death, both of the Sith wore looks of joy, one of an insane joy the other of content pleasure. Nora's blade managed to land a few scathing blows on Mercury's aura. Her strikes were quick and violent and hit like an angry Rancor. Her strikes took to the simple yet effective track, with diagonal cuts that would break any static block Mercury tried put up. Though he managed to keep her at bay with force pushes and dodges but she took any hit he laid on her and returned it with interest, as even touching her was dangerous with the amount of electricity in her body. Which caused a thought in Mercury's mind that asked, _Seriously, is this bitch is a walking lightning rod?_ Mercury asked himself as he cursed internally. He slid back into some crates from a power strike from the shaft of Nora's light pike, the pain of said attack was amplified as even that blunt hit shocked him.

"Oh, you don't like be shocked do you? you little sloth!" Nora sneered at him, her eyes wide and bright with insanity. She was tormenting him, and he knew it. Retracting the pike to standard hilt length, the young Sith darted forth wailing away at Mercury who had his back to the crates. Sparks flying, blades clashing as the pink compressed blade dashed through the air as Mercury was being beaten back. Throwing all of his might in the force into one push he managed to send the Sith flying back into a wall, which much to his dismay avoided by bracing for the impact.

* * *

On the other side of the battle, Pyrrha had secured the unconscious Penny with a force push into a wall, then proceeded to encased her in containers to avoid her from getting hurt as Pyrrha and Nora dealt with the trash. To Pyrrha, the little red head was innocent and a friend of the Knights, specifically Ruby. Thusly she wanted to make sure she would be safe and alive to be brought back to Hiskal.

After securing Penny, the jade haired criminal from Amity was the Tomb Witch's most pressing concern. She smiled as she felt the weakened will of her opponent, despite being a force sensitive her strength was like that of an acolyte from Korriban, something Pyrrha could exploit. _How to make her suffer for her crimes?_ Was the predominant thought on Pyrrha's mind despite being a Remnant, Emerald deserved no mercy from Pyrrha or any of the Knights of Hiskal.

Emerald was trying to avoid the blazing hot blade that came out of Pyrrha's lightsaber. Fearing for her life, she tried to use her illusion semblance but Pyrrha thwarted it as she saw right through it and she responded with a quick taunt and smile.

"How cute, you think you can toy with my mind, How about I play with yours?!" Pyrrha spoke with a sarcastic tone at first quickly shifting to one of pure menace as she locked eyes with the Jade haired woman.

It was at that second Emerald tried to attack, though her body stopped half way through her swing, her body locked up, she tried moving but instead she lowered her saber as Pyrrha's eyes ignited with a glow of red, and a smirk followed on her face as Emerald felt the loss of control of her body. "Now, my pet, do my will, kill your friend over there," Pyrrha said with a big smile as she pointed to Mercury as Emerald screamed internally as Pyrrha seemed fully able to control her. She could see her body move she could feel it, yet she was not in control. She was a puppet at the hands of the Tomb Witch.

Mercury was attempting to duel Nora again when something odd happened, Nora morphed into Emerald, he hesitated his attack as Emerald jumped away with a horrified look on her face. _So, they can use illusion's as well, that's not good,_ Mercury thought. He turned around to see his opponent behind him, the compressed blade warping in her hand. He dashed towards her, his first strike aimed for her right leg. Her response was sluggish and her Aura seemed to be down, a sign the Sith had over-exerted herself, Mercury smiled as he thought _Time to carve this bitch up!_ Lunging his blade down, he struck her right leg, Her scream was music to his ears as he had dreamed of getting his revenge. Flicking his blade up and around he amputated her right arm. With a quick breath, smelling the burned flesh he spun around in a flourish and ran the silver blade through a spot that he knew wouldn't kill her but it would certainly be painful.

* * *

While Emerald did Pyrrha's bidding, the Tomb Witch went to recover the artifact they were sent to retrieve. It was locked away behind a heavy metal door, nothing she couldn't handle. She had used the searing hot blade to cut a hole right in it. Forcing more energy from Aurumlamina's belt mounted power source through the blade she had increased the heat coming from the blade and increased its cutting potential. In this state, her magma orange blade had to have the fork like guard active to prevent it from exploding from the amount of heat it generated. She smiled at the wickedly unstable blade after she was through. _To think I used to use a sword with a solid blade,_ Pyrrha thought as she chuckled at the inferior nature of her old weapon. Seeing the artifact on a pedestal with no major security features guarding it. This gave her time to examine the lost relic, to Pyrrha's expectations, the lost relic was the Holocron that was described, though it seemed locked to her. She could not open it for some reason, and this infuriated her slightly, but she figured it would be best to not waste any more time. she stowed the device in her bag and returned back to the location where the battle was taking place.

* * *

Ozpin and Taiyang had made their way to the Hutt crimelord's palace. They had found the gate wide open inside they saw so many bodies that were cut down by lightsaber strikes. The stench of decay and burned flesh was starting to take hold in the air as Ozpin looked at the damage the duo quickly found Raven had beat them there and she had to take down some of the guards as they quickly went on to high alert shortly after her arrival. Though this type of damage was not her style, this was the work of the two they were chasing. Ozpin walked carefully over the bodies, wishing what he saw was not true, while Taiyang seemed not to care about stepping on them, as he had done so. Though the smell was horrible as ever as the burned flesh mixed with the foul odor of the Hutt and his palace.

"From my understanding, there is a battle going on in the cargo warehouse," Raven explained as Ozpin and Taiyang approached. Ozpin detested the loss of life but a lesson he learned quickly, 'In this galaxy, it's kill or be killed.' Moving quickly the Trio made it to the cargo hold, as they entered they heard a distant crash in the distance of the huge hanger-like room. Smelling of various forms of contraband, they proceeded carefully through with maximum haste. As they listened the sound of Lightsaber's clashing was distant but still vigorous. Sensing and hearing trouble the trio of Remnants darted forth into the massive room.

* * *

Penny awoke in darkness surrounded by boxes on all sides, with a slight gap, for air to circulate. After performing a quick reboot cycle on all of her systems, she could tell these boxes were stacked in a way to keep her contained. She felt the pain across her body as the synthetic neurons fired, though she quickly rebooted her pain detector to get rid of the sore feeling she had across her body. She felt all of her dust conduits sparking back to life allowing her synthetic body to move again. She couldn't believe the situation though, that two heroes of Amity were Sith and were trying to kill her friends, Penny knew what they did on Amity was wrong, though they told her they were forced to comply, and when Penny found them they asked her for forgiveness which she gave them.

Remembering the fight taking place outside the container, Penny examined the containers as she performed a diagnostic on her weapon system as they were unresponsive, after a few seconds of her examining the tomb of boxes, the diagnostic report came in with a red warning in her vision telling her to seek maintenance as it was unresponsive. This annoyed the android as she figured a way out of the box prison, as she thought, _This tactic would normally have worked if it was a normal Remnant that they had contained, but they don't know what I am._ Penny thought as she kicked out the one container that supported no weight. What she saw as she escaped her container prison shocked her. She saw Emerald being impaled by Mercury's blade in shock. Though she saw Pyrrha and Nora standing off to the side Watching this with smiles, seeing this Penny grabbed her reserve weapons, her lightsabers.

* * *

As Mercury turned to look at his target to finish her, he heard clapping behind him, Turning around he saw both Pyrrha and Nora smiling, Pyrrha was clapping as she had both her saber and scepter on her back and belt respectively, While Nora had her light pike extended on her shoulders resting her hands over the shaft of the pike. Mercury looked down to find out Emerald was the one he attacked. She looked in abject horror and pain as the smoke came from the impaling wound on her stomach. She was barely alive from the attack as a temporary shock set in. Mercury was angry and confused as to what happened. Though he didn't want to lose Emerald so he took the med kit off his belt and began to attempt to quickly stabilize her.

"Pyrrha that was downright naughty, but still fun to watch," Nora spoke playfully with a smile as she twirled her light pike around off her shoulders, slamming the tip of the force pike end on the ground as she entered a combat stance and prepared to leap back into the fray as another voice shouted.

"Friend Emerald!" Penny shouted as she darted at Pyrrha from behind as the sound of two lightsaber's igniting rang out from behind. Pyrrha leaped back in a force assisted jump and Nora rolled out of the way of Penny's green and orange blades, the orange one looking particularly familiar almost like it was salvaged from Cinder. The look on her face showing that she witnessed what had transpired and could not move until now. "You monsters!" Penny yelled realizing that somehow Pyrrha or Nora had taken control of Emerald or Mercury and made this happen. The redhead turned around quickly shielding Mercury and Emerald, "You two! You used to be heroes to when you tried to save us all back at Amity. My friends here regretted their actions that day, and they were forced to work for Cinder, they didn't do that voluntarily!" Penny continued in a rant, a rant that got both Nora and Pyrrha laughing at her naivety.

"If you believe that, you are even dafter than expected," Pyrrha spoke calmly in her accented voice, outright dismissing what Penny was saying as she and Nora regrouped and stared down at Penny. "They were Cinder's apprentices if you think they didn't join her voluntarily, why would Cinder have trained them?" Pyrrha asked dropping her normally stoic imperial attitude, appealing to reason, something few Sith would do, as she didn't want to harm Penny but if push came to shove she would if she had to.

"Penny?" Nora asked, her voice taking a much more reasonable tone, as she asked lowering her weapon. Though she kept her thumb on the ignition switch, as she saw Mercury still behind Penny tending to Emerald behind Penny. It was at this moment Penny realized they didn't want to fight her.

"Yes," the synthetic red head replied though quickly followed through with a question of "What do you want, Nora?"

"What are heroes, Penny?" Nora asked to get the figurative hamster wheel in the brain spinning. After a second she realized that she had Penny thinking of an answer, which she gave her answer as.

"Heroes are people who do good things, the right-" Right there Nora stopped her and said.

"No, they are a matter of perspective," Nora explained as Ruby herself learned this lesson years ago, and Ruby made sure that all four of the Knight's knew what a Hero really was, though Nora quickly followed that thought up with, "Who decides good and right? Think about it Penny," Nora smiled as the redhead huffed up preparing to strike with anger but her mind realized there was truth in what was being said. Seeing Penny deflate, Pyrrha smiled at Nora for defusing the situation slightly and decided to add her own twist.

"Besides, Penny we have no quarrel with you, unless you want to make one," Pyrrha explained, "though if your friend would like to stand down we could potentially negotiate bringing you back to Hiskal, so Mercury and Emerald can face trial for their crimes on Remnant," with that Penny lowered her sabers as the blades retracted back into the hilts, as Mercury stood up making sure that Emerald was stable, though as he heard the blades retract he had to ask.

"Why aren't you fighting them, Penny?! You could have them dead right now!" Mercury inquired angered as he finished stabilizing Emerald and he stood with his saber and Emerald's in hand, "you saw what they did, they are evil!" Mercury said calmly controlling his fury as he ignited the sabers in his hand green and silver. He was furious that he turned his partner against him, and he now wanted their heads and this could be heard in his voice.

"Maybe I can secure a peaceful conclusion to the hostilities," Penny replied looking back at her partner with a very hopeful look on her face, as Mercury began to lumber over behind her. In a hair of a second, when Penny turned around again to look to see what Mercury was doing. though his motions masked by the humming of their blades, Mercury raised his blade to strike Penny down for insubordination, he wasn't going to let them turn that girl against him too. Seeing this action, the two Sith decided to act, as the look of pure terror that Penny had as the blade came down on her almost stopped their hearts, as Mercury yelled,

"If you won't fight them you can't be allowed to live!"

With only split seconds to react, Pyrrha pulled Penny towards them, slamming her to the floor with a very heavy thud, as they saw a glowing cut on her backpack and back. In retaliation, Nora slammed Mercury with force push sending him into the crate pile once more in a loud crash as crates crumpled on him.

"Penny are you alright?" Pyrrha asked rushing over to Penny who had a flabbergasted look on her face as she looked up at Pyrrha, "If you are unhurt, please stay out of our way," Pyrrha continued, _Now is not the time to be cruel, these two criminals will answer to all four of the Knights of Hiskal for their crimes!_ Pyrrha thought, having a change of heart on just killing them outright, as that was too merciful for them as she stood up and watched Nora dart into the fight engaging Mercury who was recovering from the blast despite him being covered in various materials from the crate. He quickly Parried her first strike. Seeing this rapid engagement made Pyrrha yell "Nora make him a sloth. We'll take him and Emerald alive!" This order made Nora smile with an insane glee as she viciously attacked at Mercury's limbs.

Emerald heard the declaration from the Pyrrha, hearing this Emerald winced as she felt control coming back to her body. She watched Mercury be assaulted by Nora's blade, he blocked and parried as her movements were quick and violent. In a snap second, Pyrrha jumped into the fray. The magma orange saber crackling along like fire as she took her first swing at the silver haired rogue.

His weapon in hand as he made his stand, disregarding their demand on him, Mercury knew as he dueled the Sith it was surrender or die. The flashy pulsing of the pink blade and the searing heat of Pyrrha's saber. He felt his aura was at half strength as Nora landed a hit right on his left thigh, causing a pulse in his aura as he tanked the attack. The whirring and clashing of blades filled Emerald's ears as the Jade haired woman crawled away, a difficult and painful task with a hole in the waist, and literally missing an arm and a leg didn't make it easy either. Though she stopped her she both heard and felt the dull hum of a lightsaber. Feeling the vibrations in her spine and the close proximity of the blade to her base of the back of her neck, she stopped moving. looking at the light reflecting off the metal floor, as the duel continued behind them, she could tell the blade was a green blade specifically Penny's green saber. Rolling over slowly and carefully, Emerald saw the anger and fury on Penny's young face, almost like she was willing to take a life, but instead she stood there waiting for a reaction. Though, with one quick word from an unseen voice whose volume transcended the battle, ended the conflict in an instant.

* * *

Ozpin watched the green and silver sabers colliding with the magma and pink blades. He watched in horror as he saw and heard the whirling and clashing of their blades. Seeing his students up against the Remnants he knew lived in the palace, then he saw the one with her limbs amputated and the Atlesian Remnant girl standing over her with a lightsaber pointed down at her with a gash on her back. Watching as his two comrades and friends awaited instruction. Seeing this mortal battle taking place from Remnants crazed on power his mind just went into overdrive as he realized the horror of this galaxy, and its capabilities to turn the purest heart, into a person hell-bent on death and destruction. Clenching his cane, his palms sweating as he thumbed the ignition switch of the disguised saber, an alternative he did not want to resort to. Seeing what he saw, just made him yell something at the top of his voice. One word that carried its weight as it reverberated in the room. That word was.

"STOP!"

As the word carried its burden, blades lowered, eyes opened and all turned towards the speaker. Shaking all in the room to the core the saw the coated figure as he stood there. Ozpin for a second didn't even realize what he had yelled though when he did, he continued with, "Please, stop this. this unnecessary violence."

Mercury watched Ozpin for a split second before deciding to use this situation to his advantage seeing the gap between Emerald in himself, he realized the girl was a lost cause despite being his friend and ally but if he wanted to get out alive he had to abandon her. With their blades lowered, Mercury struck the two Sith in front of him with a cut across their stomachs and bolted running as fast as his mechanical legs would carry him. As he ran he felt pain as his aura took blaster bolts to his back on eventually breaking his aura and slamming his left leg, punching a hole right through it. Causing him to tumble face first toward the ground.

* * *

In the ruins in the dark depths of the crystal field where Grimm spawn, Salem looked through her red crystals that gave her a window into the galaxy that Remnant was not privy to knowing about. Tearing a window into the other dimension, she watched the events on Nar Shaddaa. She watched the battle unfold as the two heroes from Amity attacked her pawns, she was impressed by their brutality, their anger, their hatred, and their rage. She was impressed seeing them like this, they had morphed into fine Sith.

Though she was also thoroughly disappointed in Cinder's former apprentices, they were soft and weak, not even having honed their arts since Amity, while their attackers had become dark lords of the Sith Empire, though as she watched the battle progress she saw how Emerald was incapacitated, and Salem lamented that she did not have cinder give her a mark like she did Mercury. Then she was shocked when her arch enemy himself showed his face, with two of his followers, she wanted to laugh as she readied her test as Mercury was quickly incapacitated.

Grabbing a black dust crystal from a basin next to her along with taking a shard of her former apprentice Nihilius's mask, she smiled she thought _all I need is a soul, a body, the force, a shard of your mask, and my mark to enact the curse of Grimm, then I can have my pawns start enacting my plan to bring Remnant back to where it belongs._

As she completed this line of thought she ignited the black dust crystal using her Aura creating a portal opening to Mercury's mark on his back through the portal would be in his heart, taking the shard of Nihilius's mask she inserted it into the portal as it closed and smiled, turning back to her vision crystal she watched the events unfold.

* * *

Mercury cursed looking at his captors, he smiled as he looked up, feeling like he was being watched. Though despite this, he smirked as he looked down the humming energy blade down to the Red-eye through the slot in her mask, and down the barrel of very powerful blaster pistol, he immediately recognized them from Amity.

"Oh if it isn't the old geezers from Amity!" Mercury taunted as laid there with a smile. As soon as those words left his mouth, the masked woman stomped her foot onto his right wrist breaking it with a loud snap.

"By Monty! Asshole, take a joke!" Mercury cried out in pain. He buckled in a snap holding his broken wrist as the normally quiet woman replied,

"Not when I know you are trying to piss me off," the woman spoke, unwavering as she kept the humming white humming blade on target as she shifted her feet to adjust on the crumpled man at her feet.

"Besides we now recognize who you are, so be glad we don't do more," The blond man spoke as he kept the blaster barrel affixed on Mercury's head. Mercury smiled as a black pulse darted out from his chest and immense pain engulfed his body. Starting at his heart and moving through his body like a black flame. He screamed as he felt his heart straining to pump his blood.

Pyrrha and Nora, recovering from the attack, thankful for their aura was able to take the strike. The two looked out at Mercury as they felt chills up their spine as shadows whipped around the room, almost absorbing the light around them, causing both the smuggler and masked force user to back off. His screams morphing as the shadows grew and morphed out. Being lifted off the ground, Mercury's body was being ripped and shredded by the dark powers. Unable to do anything but watch, the group watched as the black shadows engulfed his body. With his final scream being morphed into a demonic howl, his body erupted into a red mist of gore, and the curse was complete as the red mist formed into an inky black fog that started to fill the room. Spreading like an ink stain on paper, the fog infected the room as they watched with a morbid curiosity.

Even Pyrrha and Nora looked at this in abject horror, as the inky blackness twisted and turned in front of them, Pyrrha knew Sith alchemy could create entities but this seemed to be something else entirely as even the Spirits tied to Pyrrha's soul were horrified by the black mass that was growing in front of them. it was a seething and pulsing well of all of the darkest emotions anyone could have and this terrified the Sith who relied on such emotions as they felt absolutely outclassed by what was happening. Not even Nora wanted to face whatever that thing was, with this thought in mind, the two Sith lords to backed up with their lightsaber ignited, it had been a long time but they truly were afraid what that portal was.

Penny and Emerald heard the eruption of darkness behind them, the both turned to face the event they both bore witness to the fate of Mercury, at which point both started to move back, one by walking, the other by crawling, both absolutely horrified by the morphing blackness.

Raven and Taiyang fell back as the fog crept, its inky blackness creating a void in the cargo bay. All of them could feel the darkness being emitted, shivers in the spine, chills and a looming sense of dread being the symptoms. Though, the darkness on the planet was flowing to this site like rivers, the emotions of, anger, hatred, sorrow, and sadness, igniting the viscous fog as it roared to life in black flames. Those present could only watch in abject horror as fog developed into something sinister. Out of the demonic flames came rivers of a thick pitch black liquid, it was at this point Ozpin realized what was going on and he retracted the cane portion of cane and ignited the green lightsaber blade that existed on the top of the walking stick. Though as wolfish howl rang out from the center of the black mist, all of the Remnants knew what was happening as out stepped a Black wolf with a bony mask and armor with though it was Ozpin who yelled the word they all dreaded,

"Grimm!" as those words were uttered by Ozpin, a shock wave blasted across the planet, multiple similar wells of darkness opened across Nar Shaddaa, upper levels, and lower levels. After minutes panic filled the streets as multiple clouds of fog formed across the world as the fear and horror filled the air of the city covered smugglers moon, as the galaxy was introduced to a new threat, a threat that had never been seen by this galaxy.

The citizens of Nar Shaddaa felt fear as the dark neon-lit streets of the Smuggler's Moon had rivers of blackness flowing through them all of it flowing to the lower levels as black flames coursed through multiple points of the ecumenopolis. Screams echoing throughout skyline as creatures with bony masks emerged horrifically from those rivers. Howls and Roars filled the streets as the last effect of the attack shot through the galaxy, a chilling wave of a disturbance in the force rocked through the Galaxy from Nar Shaddaa, like a beacon of darkness it rang out to every force user in the galaxy, though it was more of a signal, searching for those gifted by their creator.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that was a chapter, and PENNY DID NOT DIE! Though this event is not over, I am going to be handling this event as a multi-part gig, but we now have Grimm in the SWTOR universe, so this will be a fun time for everyone involved, also this chapter is filled to the brim with references, I decided to leave them in for laughs, so if they are too annoying let me know I can fix them, if enough people find them obnoxious. Well, I have final's next week so this will be a fun time.**

 **Review responses:**

 **hornofdesolation: Thank you, as usual!**

 **ToxicGentleman: Thank you for the luck it helped, I will look into the grammar issues when I can!**

 **Guest: Yeah that will be an interesting situation, I can't wait to write it myself.**

 **Well, the next chapter will be back in Hiskal, with some interesting characters making contact with the two knights, then there will be a Jedi chapter then we will be back here. Also, A new lightsaber design will be coming to Deviant Art soon depends. So with all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose! Happy May the Fourth everyone!**

 _ **Blitzing Raptor**_

 **EDIT: May 11th 17: Ozpin's Lightsaber is up on my Deviant Art for those that are interested. Also Appologies to all those who did not get notified that Dark Side of a Rose Was updated.**


	43. Chapter 43: New Allies

**A/N: I am not dead, sorry for the lack of updates but I'll save that explanation for the end, in the meantime enjoy Chapter 43: New Allies! (for all of you who were not notified on May 4th due to sitewide glitch. Chapter 42 is up and you should read it, especially those of you who care about Penny)**

* * *

 **Chapter 43: New Allies**

* * *

Away from Nar Shaddaa and back on Drommund Kaas, Ruby and Weiss found themselves in the restaurant they came to often. To the point of they were very well known by the staff of Stahltisch, and well liked as they had saved the owner when an apprentice was terrorizing Hiskal early in their time as apprentices, and one of the waitresses was a survivor of Jahi's brutality and thanked Ruby for vengeance on her behalf. Like most of Hiskal, they found the Knights a very unique protection from the brutality of the Sith and their extortion of the nonforce sensitive population. For those that frequent Stahltisch they were a normal sight on weekends when they were not busy, though most of the time they did have the other two knights with them, so it was quite odd with it just being the two of them again.

Ruby and Weiss, being regulars to this restaurant had been given their own booth that was always reserved for them by the owner that was secluded and out of the way, and it was an accepted drop off for letters and gifts from the populace to get to the Dove and Raven of Hiskal in particular as the Owner forwarded it to them if they didn't come by that week. Slipping into the restaurant, they dodged most of the crowd though they did check in with the waiter at the front to let them know they were there. They took their seats at the booth quickly, trying to not draw much attention to themselves.

The atmosphere was filled with gossip from the patrons about the events that had occurred in the speech. Weiss and Ruby had spent the first few minutes listening to the reactions of people. They were mixed some thought Imperious overstepped her bounds, others felt happy for Malserik. As they got seated Ruby said.

"I am sorry Weiss, if I would have known how much that the execution was going to upset you I would have intervened sooner," Ruby said with her hood still cloaking her face, despite being indoors. Weiss looked at Ruby oddly with what she said responding with.

"What is that supposed to mean Ruby?" She asked her voice calm though quite curious as it sounded to Weiss like Ruby wasn't originally going to intervene. Ruby sighed, preparing to repeat herself

"It means exactly what I said if I would have known-," Ruby started to explain for the second time when Weiss interrupted with.

"I heard that, you dolt. Let me rephrase that, so you only intervened because of me?" Weiss inquired again this time Ruby shifted her gilded gaze narrowing beneath her cloaked hood, she knew where Weiss was taking this and she replied with.

"No, I probably would not have interfered," Ruby admitted, her accented voice lowering to with tone of frustration, she didn't want to talk about this right now, and then continued with, "Weiss, we are Sith after all, they betrayed all of us and Malserik, who thought they were his friends, yet they almost got all of us killed, as much as I find it detestable, Malserik was justified until he started to hurt you," Ruby explained though the harshness of her voice softened by the end of her explanation, something that shocked Weiss. Though she quickly changed the topic to.

"I am flattered Ruby, but you have really been worrying me the past few weeks," Weiss explained as Ruby looked at her with a look that said 'really now?' Though Weiss quickly continued with a tender concern, "I have been noticing that things that would upset most people don't seem to faze you that much anymore. You have had two emotional breakdowns, once after your eyes turned gold, and after that battle with Blake. I noted you changed after both and I never really questioned it before-"

"So your are going to now," Ruby interrupted with a sneer of discomfort and evasiveness lacing her accented voice.

"Yes, I am Ruby," Weiss said looking at Ruby calmly as she shifted in her seat, as Weiss was concerned about her lover now more than ever.

"Weiss, I was trained by Imperious, she helped me overcome my fear of killing, and she taught me very well in that regard. As for how she did that, I don't want to go into that. What she did to teach me these lessons I carry myself," Ruby evaded quickly with a tone of anger and bitterness to mask the some of the horrifying things that happened to her. Though Ruby didn't fault Imperious, for the training as it accomplished the goal they both wanted, and she did ask for it.

"You never really told me what she did in your training Ruby, Malserik said she had unique methods, but really What did she do to you?" Weiss said calmly, though her patience was wearing thin as she looked into Ruby's eyes. "I swear if she hurt you, Ruby, if she did anything to you,-"

"You'll what, Weiss?" Ruby interrupted, "if you say anything like 'I'll kill her.' let me let you in on something, I told her I wanted her to get me used to the horrors of being a Sith and all it entailed, so I was not forced to endure anything that I didn't ask for. Sometimes Imperious was concerned for me when she put me through a few very horrible sessions," Ruby spoke defending her former master. Ruby remembered the times Imperious tried to tone it down and Ruby kept pushing her, not wanting to stop no matter how horrible it got.

"Then why did you do this Ruby, why did you put yourself through so much?" Weiss asked getting angry with Ruby as she heard this. She could tell her girlfriend was being evasive and was actively trying to hide her training from her, something that aggravated the Heiress of Hiskal.

"A cliché, but it was one thing that Vader asked me back when he gave me his hand, 'would I embrace darkness to save you?'," Ruby said as she remembered when she first heard that line, "The answer to that question was yes. Yes, I would embrace darkness to save my friends, my family and you, especially you, Weiss." Ruby's normally stoic voice quivered as a few tears rolled down her face as she even thought about losing Weiss. Though the look the dark woman beneath the hood had was one that told Weiss one thing, she originally did all of this for her. Though before she could respond, another unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Ah the lover motivated by their love, such a cute and sweet motive," A dark voice spoke from over Ruby's shoulder, "It is also one of the greatest weakness that can easily be exploited," The voice continued as the two young women had a feeling like maggots were crawling across their skin, causing wriggling little pains all across their bodies.

"This training you endured at the hands of Imperious, "another separate voice spoke." it must have been a unique kind of brutal if you don't even trust your lover with the knowledge of what happened," the second voice continued as two masked figures of extreme power morphed out of the shadows to reveal themselves. This action caused Ruby and Weiss to stand and draw their unignited sabers as they stared down the two Sith. They did not know the names of the two Sith but the patrons did, Marr and Jadus.

Ruby was insulted by their taunting of her training, and the insulting tone they took to her motivations. the air was palpable to the two young Sith in Stahlstrich, their skin tingling with the disgusting feeling of worms. Facing the two masked Sith, Ruby ignited both halves of Rose De Sang. A sound familiar to the citizens of Hiskal filled the small restaurant as the blades erupted forth. Ruby held the bloody rose blades towards the throats of the Sith, the power of her saber's on full display to all as the loud hum of De Sang's droning filled the restaurant. Ruby's hooded face wore a look of 'You move, you die,' as her gilded eyes narrowed at the Sith as her body readied for battle. Weiss then ignited her saber. despite the power in her icy blue blade, the sound of Mitternacht was not as verbose as her counterparts. Sounding more like a Jedi's lightsaber than a Sith's. However, did give a distinct air to the icy blade. All eyes in the restaurant were on them as the citizen's gazed wide-eyed at the four Sith some even moving to look on in shock, though their shock was not at their actions, but more at who the blades were pointed at.

Despite the hostile nature of the girl's actions, the two intruding Sith stood still as the droning of blades filled the air. They were shocked by the power in the blades pointed at their bodies, they were not the lightsabers of Lords, they were lightsabers that felt like they belonged to a Dark Councilor. Noting this fact the two Sith realized how powerful these two were. After a few tense moments of a stare down, one of the Sith spoke.

"Please calm yourself, Dove and Raven of Hiskal, we mean you no harm," the towering red-clad Sith spoke like a gentleman, not wanting to resort to violence unless truly prompted, and under these circumstances he did not view them readying their blades as something that required a violent response calmly raising a hand in a gesture of peace.

Ruby and Weiss looked at each other and retracted their blades though they pulsed their tethered aura. They still bore skeptical looks on their faces as the two Sith towered over them. They could tell they didn't know who they were as given by how quick the girls drew their blades on them. Though as they pulsed their aura the to Sith almost took a step back at the unfamiliar power as they felt the raw power that these girls possessed. This act made the red and purple-clad Sith think _These are just lords?_ Just before saying "If you don't mind, can we have a seat? We would like to talk to you two." the red-clad Sith spoke as the white haired dove quickly replied with as she stood firm,

"Introduce yourselves then you may take your seats," the Dove spoke, her voice sounding like that of someone from the Republic as she didn't carry the imperial accent, something she did to honor both her past and her master as neither had such a drastic change in dialect. Despite this, her voice still carried a compelling tone of authority, the tone of someone who commands respect. The two other Sith, towering and imposing, quickly responded, giving into her demands, to be courteous. As to them even if they couldn't convince Imperious or Malserik, they would convince them to join them against Vitiate.

"I am Darth Marr," The Red Sith spoke quickly and politely, "Dark Councilor of the Sphere of Defense."

"And I am Darth Jadus" The purple clad Sith with the sleek mask spoke calmly though with a hint of malice that he couldn't get out of his voice. "I am the Dark Councilor for the Sphere of Intelligence."

Ruby by this point had shifted to across the table to sit next to Weiss as the two towering Sith took their seats across from them. At this point, a collective sigh could be heard from the patrons of the restaurant. As they feared what the combat between them could unleash, as the unnerving presence of both of the Dark Councilors could be felt throughout the restaurant.

* * *

Though in the kitchen the owner, cooks, and waitresses were whispering, scared out of their minds at the tension in the main dining area, it was at this time a Female blue Twi'lek spoke up.

"So what do we do? I mean really? the last thing we need is one of us to go out there and get killed."

"Yeah Marr and another dark councilor, are out there! I don't think any of us want to go take their order, one wrong move and we are dead!" a short tan human female replied quickly a large diagonal scar covering her face as she crossed her visible metal arms, like the Twi'lek she wore the standard waitress uniform of the restaurant. The cooks and the waitress staff looked on at the owner with a look of 'What do we do?'

"Well, thenJaklyn, why don't you go take their order," the owner said to the girl with the scar on her face, "The Dove and Raven will protect you, so you will go take their order, as for the rest of you lot just act normal." The owner said remaining calm, his heart was telling him, he didn't need this today.

* * *

Outside in the main dining area, Ruby and Weiss were sitting across from the two masked Darths, as Jaklyn walked up and introduced herself as the waitress for the table today. The Knights ordered their usual meals Ruby ordered her Bantha Steak plus some cookies and Weiss ordered the Chef's Salad, the two Dark Councilors, on the other hand, did not order. Scurrying back to the counter Jaklyn took shelter. Ruby wanted to laugh at the waitress but she figured it would be improper considering the situation. It was at this time Marr spoke,

"So Lady Rose, what exactly did Imperious teach you?" Marr asked his voice lined with curiosity, he wanted to know what the Councilor of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge deemed to be important knowledge, though Ruby's response was cold and calculated, and a bit of a snap.

"She taught me enough" Ruby replied as she sat at the table, her arms crossed her hands resting next to her lightsabers that were mounted back on her harness as she tried to focus on reading these Sith, who seemed to be very good at resisting her force sight, almost like they had experience dealing with it before. This idea unnerved Ruby as she hadn't encountered someone she just could not read, as she could even read Imperious and Viridian at a limited level, but she was focusing on these two and she wasn't able to read a thing off of these two Sith.

Weiss could feel Ruby was very uncomfortable and decided to shift the topic on to them asking, "So why are talking with us and not Malserik or Imperious?" Weiss's voice was harsh, cold, and seemingly annoyed at these two Sith for interrupting their earlier conversation.

"We wanted to see if the Knights of Hiskal lived up to their expectation," Jadus replied, his voice making both Weiss and Ruby uncomfortable, it was evident he was a Sith on an entirely different league than what they normally dealt with. After Jadus was done speaking Marr continued with, "Needless to say we are very impressed with you two, though that begs the question, don't you feel held back?"

"I would concur with Marr, from what we have seen and heard of you four, you Knights should be all Darths by now," Jadus continued as Weiss and Ruby looked at each other, unsure of how to respond to that, they were saying that they should be Darths, this got Ruby and Weiss to smile as they realized these two saw them as Darth's not lords, but it was at this moment they also caught on that they were trying to tempt them away from their masters at which point Weiss replied with, "Well if Imperious and Malserik don't see us as Darths yet, we are not yet Darths." Ruby nodded with this statement though once her lover was finished she continued with.

"So it would be best if you don't try to tempt us, you may anger Imperious and Malserik and by extension us," Ruby said with her voice sounding low and wolfish, trying for a low intimidation on the two Dark Councilors. At this moment Marr and Jadus both realized that these girls were quite clever and they had a friendship with their masters rather than a hatred for them. This was concerning to the dark councilors, as it subverted their plan to potentially turn them against their masters. It was at this point Ruby realized how much of a scene just the presence of these two Sith were making and said, "Besides we should probably take you two back to Waldstahl, mainly because you probably would like to speak to our masters,"

It was at this moment, Marr and Jadus looked at each other then looked back at the two knights and then Marr said, "That would be best, We mean no harm." Marr was being cautious as Ruby signaled over their waitress and told her that they would like their food to go and paid on the spot as Jaklyn packed up their food while Weiss called up the shuttle, though as she did she noted a very concerning message on her scroll saying,

* * *

Weiss and Ruby be careful there are two very dangerous Sith in the city, by the name of Marr and Jadus.

* * *

Weiss sighed as it was a little late for that warning and then she quickly replied with.

* * *

They don't seem like they are a threat and we already invited them to talk to you and Malserik back at Waldstahl.

* * *

Returning to Waldstahl, Malserik was a mix of both panicking and furious, especially after Imperious received that reply to her message telling them, that Marr and Jadus were going to pay him a home visit. After the events of the speech, today one could say he wasn't in the mood. Imperious herself was fuming at the fact Ruby and Weiss had invited two very real and potential threats right to their door. When she first saw those two in Hiskal and had the time to, she activated a contingency plan. That plan being the lumbering muscular brute stood behind them with his oversized vibroblade mounted right across his back. Rushed from his home at the original Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, Khem Val was now present and ready to assist Imperious and Malserik if the time came and the giant brute of a Dashade stood ready for battle.

"Malserik can I ask you something?" Imperious asked of her now engaged fiancee, who had his gloves off to display the ring on his finger. He sighed in his chair and nodded as he had SturmKreig on the top of his desk so it was on display and at the ready. Though he responded with a cold,

"Yes," His voice not really in the mood for inquiries on seemingly irrelevant topics.

"What was with the whole Invictus Rex thing?" Imperious asked as she stood behind Malserik's chair, her arms crossed holding both Castle and Jackle on their harnesses hooks. Her body was tense and waiting for combat. Her palms sweating on the wooden grips of her saber as she asked the question to relieve some of the tension of the situation.

"Invictus Rex, Invincible King in some old language, or something like that, they usually chant that when I do something that no other Sith would do, or when I surmount odds," Malserik explained with a lackluster attitude as he really didn't know where it came from. He remembered the first Darth that came to try to take Hiskal. After her publicly impaled that Sith the people just started chanting that name.

"Well then Darth Invictus Rex, I think we found you a suitable Darth title!" Imperious said with a bright smile, as Malserik returned her smile with a chuckle as Imperious got another reply that shocked her.

* * *

Returning to the shuttle Weiss and Ruby had continued their conversation with the two Dark Councilors as the two Knights enjoyed their meals. Weiss eating with some civility and dignity while Ruby scarfed her food down like After taking a swallowing the most recent bite of her food, Ruby asked, "So minus checking us out, why are you two here?"

This question made Marr and Jadus look at the hooded Sith with suspicion as the were unsure if they could be trusted. Though the thought of if they did know about Vitiate, and his plans did cross their minds. The two of them looked at each other, unsure whether they could answer that question truthfully or not. Though after a silent deliberation, Marr decided to trust the Knights figuring if he told them openly what was happening, he may manage to appeal them over to their side. As the thought that motivated his action went, _certainly if these two have a speck of justice in their minds they will understand our plight._ With that Marr spoke.

"We are in search of allies to overthrow Emperor Vitiate," Marr said lowly and quietly, as Jadus looked at the two girls. Beneath that mask, the two Knights could tell he was glaring death at them, telling them effectively 'you mention this to anyone we will kill you,' though Weiss and Ruby turned to look at each other, remembering Imperious telling them about her plans at which point Ruby laughed as she finished the latest bite of her food. As she finished her laughing fit, the hooded Sith smiled and replied sensing a glimpse of honesty in Marr.

"If that is the case, we are on your side," Ruby explained with a smile. With that said, Weiss looked at Ruby with a look that said 'did you just say that?' At which point Ruby continued to Weiss by saying, "Weiss please let Imperious know about this," She smiled malevolently, before taking another piece of her food. Concerned, Weiss slowly took out her scroll and typed up the message, as Ruby said, "And if what you say is true, Imperious and Malserik are on your side as well, so please trust us."

With that Marr and Jadus were surprised by the newfound confidence in the Raven of Hiskal as she talked with them. Though they wanted to stop Weiss, but as she was typing Ruby gave a look beneath her hood to the two Dark Councilors that told them 'trust us.'

* * *

The message that Imperious received was one that made her question if Ruby and Weiss had been compromised. This concerned her greatly as if they were compromised or worse, traitors she would have to kill them. Though if what Weiss sent her was correct, Imperious could have gained two very powerful allies. Unsure of what to think of this Imperious spoke to Malserik, saying.

"Have the guard on high alert, though if what I just heard is true, Marr and Jadus will be joining us," Imperious explained to Malserik who seemed bewildered by the last thing Imperious just said. After she finished her sentence Malserik took a second understand what he heard. Once it dawned on him what Imperious said, he commented with

"You can't be serious?" He inquired as he snapped back in his chair. The mere idea that both Marr and Jadus being part of their plans made for quite an uncomfortable thought for the eye-patched Sith, but the look Imperious gave him told him she was quite serious at which point, Malserik put out the order just in time as the shuttle with their guests was landing in the hanger.

* * *

After landing in one of Waldstahl's hangers, Ruby and Weiss could see each and every security precaution that Malserik had rushed in place for their guests. As they got out of the shuttle, they saw snipers setting up in the upper catwalks of the hanger. Entering Waldstahl proper, each step was guided and guarded by Hiskalan guards that lined the halls leading to Malserik's study. Each step made the duo of Knights wonder how Imperious and Malserik were going to act. Ruby and Weiss figured they would be furious, though by the assets being employed to guide them, it made them wonder if they were even going to keep their heads after this. Though that worry was more applied to Weiss than Ruby.

Continuing through the halls Marr and Jadus followed the two knights. They could feel they were nervous Weiss more so that Ruby, something that made the Darths think, _do they truly fear their masters this much?_ As they walked through the corridors, they could see the damage from the attack of the rogue Jedi. It definitely lent credence to the die-hard resolve of Waldstahl and Hiskal that they withstood such an attack.

As the knights and their guest approached the study of Malserik, they could feel the anger and malice directed at them as soon as they walked through the door. The glares their masters gave them were direct and intense, definitely looks of, 'if this is a trap you two will pay.' their glares and appearance accent by a bright flash of lighting flowing through the recently replaced curved window, silhouetting them along with the three others in the room. It became even more apparent that Roman and Neo were joining in on the glaring game as they stood in the far corners of the room both with Batons like Winter's on prominent display on their belts. Though, the birds of Hiskal's ultimate concern was 'what is the big alien in the corner doing here?' Ruby and Weiss had never seen such an alien before and it was quite concerning as it had a very disturbing feeling in the force surrounding it.

The scowls on both of their former master's faces drilled at the girls with anger as their guests entered the room behind them. As they did another large streak of lightning darted through the dark sky of the snowstorm outside, further adding to the imposing look of the former masters as the stared down the intruders. Walking into the room, Marr and Jadus could feel the hostility in the room as both a green and blue eyes locked on them along with others giving the room a foreboding and unwelcoming air.

"Ruby Weiss, stand aside," Imperious ordered as she walked in front of Malserik's desk to stand with the two Dark Councilors. Ruby and Weiss quickly complied, moving clear out of the way of the Councilors. Malserik sat at his desk, his fingers interlaced with SturmKrieg below, keeping an eye on their two former apprentices, who stood there Weiss looked like she was about to start sweating bullets while Ruby seemed nervous though she did feel slightly confident. As Imperious continued with, "It is very unexpected of you two to show up in Hiskal today, but according to our knights you have something to discuss?" At this point, Jadus spoke giving his response.

"We do, and if the trivial hostilities are out of the way, is this room secure?" Jadus asked, his voice ringing maliciously through his masks vocabulator. This question got Malserik to sigh and respond with.

"We just executed the spies today Jadus, so unless you have something up your sleeve here, we should not be compromised," Malserik explained as a light sigh could be heard from Marr. It was at this point Jadus admitted something that was almost like a compliment to Malserik.

"I have no surveillance over Waldstahl. For what is worth, it has proven to be very difficult for Imperial Intelligence to infiltrate your fortress." Jadus admitted as Malserik's gaze turned to Ruby. Ruby immediately knew what he was going to ask she didn't sense any deception in what he said, though it was very difficult for her to read him at all and what she said reflected that.

"I feel he is being truthful, I haven't been able to read them that well" Ruby spoke as Imperious frowned lightly as did Malserik, though they did give her a concerned look, as they were now even more unsure of the situation. Though it was in that moment Imperious took the initiative in the conversation and said.

"Thank you, Ruby. As for you two, as you know my apprentices let me know we have something to discuss," Imperious smiled hoping that what Weiss said in that message was true.

"That is correct, Jadus and I are forming an axis to overthrow Emperor Vitiate, and your apprentices said you could be our allies in this action" Marr explained as Imperious shot Ruby and Weiss a glare, but quickly returned to Marr and Jadus, with a look of disbelief after they effectively admitted to treason. Even Malserik had a look of disbelief on his face. This disbelief caused Imperious to ask.

"Are you sure the voice modulator in your mask is working as I could have sworn you said 'to overthrow Vitiate'?" Imperious asked quite curious if they legitimately misheard Marr as all throughout her dealings with the masked Sith, she always figured him for a loyalist. Imperious seriously thought _they couldn't have just said that these two are loyalists beyond a reasonable doubt._ Imperious would be legitimately shocked if they meant that

"No what I said was accurate, Vitiate must be purged for the Sith to succeed," Marr spoke giving a gesture of trust, as Jadus continued quickly after.

"he is a danger to all life, not just Sith," Jadus said in a way that showed his true discontent with the Emperor. Both Malserik and Imperious looked at each other yet again as smiles crept up their pale faces as Malserik reclined interlacing his fingers and Imperious stood, their smiles showing a form of relief that presided over them. Which in turn caused their former apprentices to sigh in relief Imperious spoke with her smile though it showed she wanted to toy with them slightly.

"Well if that is the case, welcome to the club," Imperious smiled as she stood tall though she was still small in comparison to the two towering Sith, "I have an entire network dedicated to the idea of removing Vitiate. So really, welcome to the club." Imperious smirked like Neo as she stood between the other Dark Councilors, in front of Malserik's desk.

With this admission, Jadus and Marr's eyes went wide beneath their masks at the statement. In that second they realized the bastion of treason they had found, they had found their allies. Marr and Jadus were curious of this organization and network, though Jadus was more shocked at the secrecy of it all. _If this is true, What have we stumbled upon here?_ Jadus thought as realized they might not have been the only ones who know Vitiates full plan. If that was the case they had found some of the greatest allies they could have hoped for. Though as this dawning realization gripped the two Darths, Imperious continued.

"Well, you are welcome to stay, until we can work out how our alliance will work," Imperious smiled, before turning to Weiss and Ruby, with an unsure look for a second. She wanted to scold them but they did just secure them two extremely powerful allies. Though as she was going to open her mouth, Marr interrupted asking "Why aren't those two Darths?"

"I beg your pardon?" Imperious inquired swinging around to face Marr with a look of agitation and annoyance, as Ruby and Weiss took a step back. Weiss wore a cautious look while Ruby just smirked as Marr continued with.

"They are most certainly powerful enough, so I am most curious why you haven't named them Darths," Marr explained as he glanced at the two young Sith through the visor of his mask. Imperious was pinching the bridge of her nose, she was waiting she knew they had one more trial to face before they could call themselves Darths. Though before she could respond Jadus chimed in with.

"I will concur with Marr they are more than worthy," Once Jadus finished speaking Imperious spoke quickly and decisively, her aggravation with the topic showing through her voice as she replied with.

"They have one more trial to face, then they can be called Darths please do not question my judgment on that matter!" Imperious snapped which caused all but Khem, Marr, and Jadus to recoil as Imperious raised her voice. "as for you two," She spoke turning back to Ruby and Weiss, "Please, for the love of the force, don't be so openly trusting with our plans like that, It worked out this time, also pay attention to your damn scrolls!" Imperious said in a neutral tone that fluctuated in tone slightly as she was still unsure of how she wanted to approach the topic. "But there will be no repercussions for this, as you have just made our lives that much easier, so you are dismissed. Though I do want to talk later," Imperious smiled as she gestured to the two sighing Knights of Hiskal as they started to make their way to the door.

Before they could reach the door, a disturbance in the force racked the room, like it just slammed with a powerful blast of demise, despair, and pain. For those in the room around years ago it was like the disturbance that occurred when Ruby and Weiss arrived, though it carried like a blast from a single epicenter, it gave all those present a chill up their spines and crawling on their skin. Even the Dark Councilors were disturbed by this wave of darkness in the Force. Though the most concerning reaction came from Weiss and Malserik who buckled clutching their eye-patched eyes as they screamed in agony.

* * *

 **A/N: Well I am going to start off with an apology, life and her distractions along with a lack of interest in writing had been plaguing me for about a month at this point. It also did not help that I sold my soul to Ark: Survival Evolved. Though I am back and this is the last chapter that I am going to get out of what I had for the original Chapter 9 so Chapter 44 is going to be an entirely new and original addition to the story! With that in mind, the next chapter is going to be a Jedi chapter so that will be fun. Apologies for taking so long on this chapter, during Summer I am just going to ask that everyone be patient with me!**

 **Well, Review responses!**

 **TheHallowClown, I know but I have rewritten this story once, I don't want to focus on the past anymore, I want to advance the story.**

 **Theothergy: Yes it was, though there is another in that chapter.**

 **With all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


	44. Chapter 44: Release

**A/N: Well sorry for the massive Delay, I am not dead so do not fret. but here we are with Chapter 44: Release**

* * *

 **Chapter 44: Release**

* * *

Away from Hiskal and Drommund Kaas on Tython, Surik had gathered her allies on the Jedi Council in secret in a secluded chamber away from the prying eyes of those not related to her faction. There she had the man convicted of the murder of Master Gulliman, Zaffre Malserik. Even his relation to the arch-traitor almost had him executed on multiple occasion by the faction of Jedi he now sat in front of. His crime, on the other hand, accounted for the other numerous requests for his execution. He was shocked by how spiteful the Jedi could be, they definitely had changed from their normally peaceful ways.

"So what is this job I could not refuse?" Zaffre inquired aggravated almost wanting to go back to his cell than be held in front of these Jedi who looked down upon him. Sadly, there was no easy escape route that he could see.

"The mission I will be tasking you with will involve you going to Drommund Kaas and killing Viridian Malserik," the white-clad Jedi smiled as Zaffre looked at the Jedi like she was insane. Though his look evolved into full blown laughter, right in the Jedi Masters' faces. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. _Why the hell would I do that you psychotic bitch? You know why I attacked you guys right?_ After he stopped laughing he followed up and said.

"Now you're funny, Jedi!" He proclaimed, though she just gave him a grin of someone who held all the cards in Pazaak. Though this bounty hunter couldn't care less about that and continued by saying, "You must have lost quite a few brain cells, or be so stupid to realize I did what I did to find my cousin. Now here you are wanting me to kill him, you must be a special kind of fool." Zaffre said blatantly insulting the Jedi in front of him. Despite the crass nature of his insults, the Jedi weathered the barrage with that same grin on her face.

"Well, your payment will be your freedom," She paused to pull out a hologram projector that when activated showed an image that made the smugness of the bounty hunter erode like twig house in front of a storm. He saw his family home on Telos's Citadel Station, he saw his family with a few republic soldiers and a Jedi. He looked at the Jedi with a look of horror and disgust, a look that read 'What are you playing at Jedi?' To which Surik smiled and shrugged, "along with guaranteeing your family isn't charged and executed for harboring a traitor to the Republic." Surik's smug smirk grew to a Cheshire like smile as she asked, "So do we have a deal?"

Zaffre wanted to rip Surik's face off for what she was doing to make him cooperate. Knowing he couldn't take the risk to his family he said lowly and quietly, "Yes." though his voice quickly shifted to a growl, as he continued with "we have a deal," he admitted. His anger wanting to boil over, as he tested the cuffs around his wrists, just to see. He wanted to kill all the Jedi in the room for bringing his family into this, though alas he could not. Though he used the limited prowess he had in the force to try and unlock the cuffs.

He felt the click on the cuff on his right hand and smiled maliciously. His hand whipping from behind his back and using the force to tug one of the white clad Jedi's lightsabers off her belt. As he slammed forward giving the Jedi a force amplified kick to the stomach as he ignited the silver blade in his hand. He smiled as he felt the humming weapon in his hand. As the other Jedi around him darted up and ignited their blades of Green, Blue, and Yellow. Though the Jedi he just kicked to the wall was still smiling.

"Calling me the fool when you attack the one holding your families life in their hands," Surik taunted as the other Jedi stood guard, "you didn't think that one through very well, now did you?" Surik taunted said standing back up before continuing with "and if you don't stand down, I will send out the signal, trust me it is in your best interest to cooperate with us."

"How do I know I can take your word? How do I know you aren't bluffing me?" Zaffre replied keeping the silver blade at the ready, though focused his attention to Surik. Who was still smiling and her reply was simple.

"Do you want to risk the chance that you are wrong and your entire family gets wiped off of Telos?" She pushed upon Zaffre instilling doubt in him, causing him to lower the lightsaber, "Now if you will cooperate, we will set you on your way, though any deviation from the mission will cause me to have your family 'taken care of'." Surik smiled as she now had the cold-hearted bounty hunter like putty in her hand, bending to her will.

"Fine, I will work with you," Zaffre said as he disengaged the lightsaber, throwing it on the ground in spite, "you will have my cooperation, though don't be surprised when the Sith come knocking wanting their tactics back," Zaffre growled as Surik picked up her lightsaber and the other Jedi deactivated their blades. After which Surik gestured to two of the Remnant Padawans in the room to escort Zaffre out of the room.

Once he was extricated from the room Surik pressed a button on the Holocomm and a male Cathar appeared and asked, "So will the murderer be working for us or need I commence with the plan?"

"No need, he is with us, I am glad that we did not have to go to that length to gain his cooperation, but keep in touch as he could be trying to trick us." Surik smiled, she hated what she had to do, but it was the only way to gain such a man's cooperation.

* * *

While being escorted down the halls Zaffre complied with the two Padawans holding his arms. They looked to be freshly minted as Jedi, a dark-skinned red head with blind white eyes the other had seemingly natural blue hair with his reddish robes. Frankly, he was curious how these Jedi could follow such orders or even be part of a scheme that seemed so Sithly. Though his mind could not focus on that, instead his mind went on about, _How am I going to get out of this? I can't risk anything right now. If it isn't a bluff I can't risk it at all. Damn it, Zaffre how are you going to get yourself out of this one?_ Zaffre asking himself in thought as he walked being restrained by the two odd Padawans as they led him towards the hangers under the guise of night. They obviously didn't want him to be seen, he noted this fact. The bounty hunter could only imagine the uproar he would cause if some Jedi found out he was let loose. As he kept walking he focused inward again. _I need to find a way to keep Viridian alive along with my family. If he his Sith, maybe he could help me._ Zaffre thought as he the Jedi Padawans pulled him into a hanger where his D-5 patrol craft rested.

He figured the Jedi bought it here from Coruscant after he was arrested. Though he was quickly released by the Padawans and told, "On your holo-com is a message containing your instructions, once you have read them contact master Surik, now get on your ship before we change our minds about letting you out." the Padawans said shoving the disgruntled man toward the ship. Zaffre shot a glare back at the two Padawans as he approached his ship.

Entering his old tried and trusted vessel, he sighed figuring he should go over this message, he walked up to the console.

* * *

Satele was pacing through the halls, she was troubled with the path the Jedi seemed to be taking, especially those following Surik or Summer, or what ever her damn name was at this point. She clenched her prosthetic hand as she felt like there was nothing she could do to stop what ever Surik was planning, let alone keep her own Jedi and forces safe from her influence.

The Jedi were split, and the Sith could very well be mobilizing to come burn Tython, she would not be surprised considering the entire Republic intelligence network seemed to be unresponsive. Something that had most of the Jedi fearing the worst had happened and the entire network was compromised. If that was the case only the force knew what the Sith found out. This greatly concerned the Grand Master as she hit her metal hand on the wall.

Then came the most disgusting thing the Grand Master had been struggling to come to terms with, the fact she was related to Surik in a sick twist of fate. This was blatantly abhorrent to Satele, that Surik conceived a child with Revan. Then came the knowledge of Surik's actions of how she persuaded those twelve Remnants to her side and made them Jedi. Speaking of which as she approached the hanger bay halls she saw two of Surik's Remnant Jedi emerging from the hanger where Zaffre's ship was being stored. This concerned her greatly as she couldn't figure out why Surik or those Jedi would be interested in that ship. She approached the door, though the two Padawans known as Neptune and Fox barred her entry with Neptune saying, "Orders of Master Surik, no one is to enter the hanger," Satele gave them a grim look that read 'what did you say to me?' though she replied quickly with.

"Well I, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order am ordering you to let me pass," Satele spoke firmly ordering the lower ranked Jedi to stand aside. Yet they stood there, unwavering in the eyes of their superior, even causing Fox to reply.

"I am afraid our orders were clear no one is to enter the Hanger containing Zaffre's ship," Fox responded calmly keeping his hand firmly on Satele's left shoulder while Neptune held her right. This statement from one of Surik's underlings made her very concerned indeed. As Surik was now being very open with her actions, a very disturbing change, but with how divided the Jedi were Satele had barely enough power to keep her in check now.

"I am ordering you to stand aside!" Satele yelled starting to get frustrated at the stubbornly loyal Jedi. Despite this, they still stood in her way. Satele resisted the urge to just furiously shove them out of the way, instead, she took a deep breath and let go of her fury as it was not worth it. She flicked her hand in front of the two Padawans, and then proceeded to say, "you will let me in the hanger, and not tell Surik of my intrusion."

With her mind trick in place, the two Padawans repeated what she said back to her then opened the hanger doors. Satele hated having to resort to that, but she needed to find out what was afoot. She didn't even need to step inside the doors to see what was being hidden from her, the ship was gone.

* * *

On board said ship Zaffre was happy to be 'free,' but he had to follow a two-week course to Drommund Kaas, lest his ship's computer informs the Jedi of the deception. He was furious about how the Jedi set him up for this. To the point of where he thought _Jedi and Sith are the same damn thing_ They had made it impossible for him to go anywhere but Drommund Kaas, thus even further limiting his options.

Sitting in the pilot's seat, he looked at the sector of the galaxy map where Telos rested. He wanted to go home, he wanted to know if Surik truly held the cards, but he couldn't risk it, if he was going to get help from anyone, it would have to be Viridian. He wondered what kind of Sith he was. Was he the kind that killed for the slightest infraction, or was he a power hungry tyrant? None of the information he had been given from the Jedi detailed much of his life on Drommund Kaas, they were sending him in absolutely blind. He sighed hoping his lost cousin would help him as his ship launched into Hyperspace.

* * *

Returning to Tython, Blake was meditating in her quarters again, her body still scarred and aching from the severe amount of healing blaster wounds. There was a part of her that found the pain empowering, as it helped her focus when she was trying to figure out how to combat the traitorous Rose. She wanted her vengeance for the deceit that caused her grievous injuries and the fact she turned from the path of being a hero and decided to become a villain, a Sith.

Though her main concern that she had been having was would Yang betray her as well. Yang had disappeared from the galaxy long ago, which had caused many Jedi to wonder if she was dead or if she was hiding. Blake was one of the few pessimists who thought Yang joined forces with a pirate or mercenary group, as according to Surik such things ran in her blood. Though Summer's prediction was that she found her way to what ever hole Revan was hiding in.

Blake wondered how Yang would react to Ruby's shift in heart as those gilded eyes haunted her mind. She slammed her hand bandaged on the floor she sat cross legged on, causing a shock wave of pain to dart up her arm. She blinked and cursed as those damned eyes looked at her in the darkness of her eyelids.

"Damn you, Ruby! Even now you torment me!" Blake screamed, she heard a rustling outside the door to her quarters, specifically the heavy thud of a foot, something Blake recognized as a trait of Karlile. This got Blake to stand up, as she needed to talk to someone. Opening the door she saw the red cloaked innocent figure of the blind woman. Blake sighed, she had been avoiding Karlile ever since Drommund Kaas. She just couldn't be around her as she reminded her so much of Ruby, the original Ruby that is, the one she knew on Remnant.

"Blake, I heard what happened on Drommund Kaas," Karlile started by saying solemnly, almost like she was ashamed to reveal that information as she lightly limped into the room. Blake frowned, g _reat, Satele must have put her up to this,_ Blake thought as she sat back down to Karlile continuing with. "Blake, this isn't healthy. Really stop feeding those dark feelings, we are Jedi." Blake looked at Karlile insulted, was she truly trying to educate her on what was 'healthy.' at which point, Blake said the words that the more pacifist Jedi of the order had been saying all along.

"Vengence isn't wrong, the Jedi are realizing this and changing to adapt to fight the Sith!" though instead of using it as a warning, Blake used this statement as a justification for her actions as she looked dead at Karlile.

Karlile heard Blake's reply which caused her to frown, as she replied with, "Master Satele or Surik would not want this of you Blake." This line caused Blake to snap she was tired of hearing that and her reply reflected that fact.

"Oh really? The council has Malserik, I have Ruby!" Blake yelled back at Karlile who weathered the vocal storm that Blake began to unleash. "Seriously Karlile, you might as well tell the council to forgive Malserik, I cannot forgive Ruby for her betrayal! She wanted to Kill me!"

it was at that moment Karlile sighed, as she stood up and walked out of the room with tears being stifled in her blind white eyes. It was at that moment when she stepped out that part of Blake realized what she had been doing, by focusing on Ruby. She was hurting her friends, but that thought was quickly repressed by the other part of her mind that wanted to focus on her vengeance.

* * *

"So no luck?" A male voice said from behind Karlile, to the right of the door in an alcove in the wall. She could sense the nervous swishing of his tale, she could tell he was a friend worried about Blake as it was him that put her up to this task.

"That is correct, Sun," Karlile responded, her voice distraught and pained. As the Monkey faunus sighed. He knew Karlile was his best bet to reaching out to Blake despite how off-puttingly familiar she was to the Faunus Jedi. It was evident with all of the 12 Remnant padawans, they all found Karlile uncomfortably familiar. Though he could hear the sniffling see the tears flowing from under the red hood that masked her eyes.

"Hey, you gave it your best shot, all we can hope for now," Sun said feigning a smile, at the innocent woman. He knew that she did try what she knew their best option was to just hope that Blake worked her way out of this phase. The Jedi needed all hands on deck and to some, the Darkness was being entertained by some of the masters. Even some word from the Republic said they want war fighters, they don't care about what side of the force they end up using to obtain their goals, so long as they were loyal to the Jedi and the Republic or at least that's what Surik said.

As Karlile lowered her hood, Sun saw the hideous burn damage on her tear stained stark white eyes. Which she quickly wiped away with her metal arm. Seeing the burns and all of the other changes Sun looked down to see her metal foot. His mind connected to a sight he witnessed so long ago.

He remembered that fateful day. He was laying in pain after just being flung against a wall. He was still in shock from the fact that Atlas had failed so hard at defending the Colosseum. Though he and the rest of the school watched PRWN engaging the Cinder and her faction. He remembered seeing the red haired bull faunus getting skewered by the blades of Ruby and Weiss, the former now known to be a Sith. He remembered the rage and despair of the members of the team who cut their way through the Dark Jedi that were on Remnant led by Cinder and that was who his mind focused on.

He remembered how red and blue blades clashed against the flame colored blades of their adversary. The battle did not last that long to those who watched as the victory of the black knights was swift. First, the molten slag that seared her eyes. Then the strikes at her arms and legs. With this scene planted in Sun's mind, he took a second look at Karlile and remembered what Surik told them about her. She came through in the Amity Blast and had a case of total amnesia. With that in mind, it all made sense and he had to let the other Remnants know, and he had to get away from her, now, lest her memories return.

"Well thanks for trying and would you look at the time, I have something else to take care of right now, see you later Karlile," The blonde monkey faunus replied making a hasty get away. As Karlile watched him through the force, unsure of what to think, she felt he became very nervous but at what she did not know, it was almost like her very presence offended him and she didn't know what to make of it, though she considered it a grim omen of what is to come.

* * *

In another part of the Jedi Temple, Satele was rushing towards the brig of the temple. She was even using the force to accelerate herself even further, concerning all the Jedi she passed along the way. She hoped Surik didn't do what she thought she did. Her heart was pounding, her mind running with a torrent of thoughts all asking _Why? Why would Surik do this?_ She knew that most of Surik's allies wanted that man to die, to be executed as a murderer of a Jedi. So the Grand Master was having trouble figuring why she would Surik think this was the best option.

Entering the brig, she bolted past the security forces, who did not even try to stop the panicked Grand Master. They figured she had realized what had happened that Surik wanted them to keep quiet about, so none of them wanted to stop her. Running further toward the back, those kept in the cells leered and laughed at the look on the Grand Master's face as she ran past. To those the Jedi had in detainment, they found the panicked look on Satele's face to be extra precious and hilarious. As to them, that sight showed the Jedi would falter and not even their leader was immune to human distress.

As Satele bent around the corner at the back of the brig, her heart stopped as she looked at Zaffre's cell. Seeing the barren metal cell made the Jedi Master freeze, her heart falling into her stomach. Her mind confirmed what she feared, with that empty cell. With that the final straw had snapped, Satele had to be rid of Surik.

* * *

Away from Tython on Coruscant, Jaune and Artorika had been dealing with Jedi duties on the planet along with Lie Ren who was the one that gave them their task as he was now Master of the Embassy. Jaune Lie Ren and Artorika had been tasked with investigating some suspected infiltration of a Republic news agency. This mission came from some members of the Council who feared the rising anti-Jedi sentiment was coming from this agency. Though their only lead came from the fact that this was the one that Zaffre leaked the Viridian recruitment footage that enraged the public too.

Though Lie Ren also considered this mission personal, as one of his failures, that reinforced this growing resentment towards the Jedi. It was the one that made him ascend to the council at such a young age. So the young master was quite interested in the resolution of the investigation, despite the opposition some members of the Senate had to the investigation but it was the Chancellor that gave Lie Ren the power to handle this investigation. That said investigation was turning up little to nothing in the form of evidence.

He had talked to most of the people he can about the issue and most were uncooperative and disrespectful at best, hostile at worst. Right now he was talking to a Rodian by the name of Vrot Trolzann, who was the main producer for the network. And he was someone who was the most cooperative individual yet.

"So what you're saying is that you don't fully know what is going on, but you suspect foul play at hand from your superiors?" Lie Ren asked of the Rodian, sitting at his desk with Jaune and Artorika standing at the back of the room watching the door.

"That is correct Master Jedi, I would love to report on something good of the Jedi but I fear for my job if I do." The Rodian responded in basic though quietly fearing the walls at this point may have ears. "Master Jedi if I find any leads I will forward them to you, I vow that upon my honor." The Rodian said. Lie stood and shook the green alien's hand after he looked at him for a second contemplating his motives but could tell the Rodian was being honest with him a rare thing with this network so far.

"Alright thank you for your time Mr. Trolzann, we will be on our way then." Lie Ren said calmly standing up. He walked over to the coat hanger on the wall, where the Jedi master had stored his brown cloak. Which he quickly slipped on covering his traditional role, as it was getting late in the day and the WeatherNet was planning on rain tonight. He gave one calm glance back at the producer before walking out of the room.

The young Jedi master emerged from to see Jaune leaning on the wall casually, he was clad in his heavy armor, his shield and saber on his belt. He like his master didn't wear a cloak over his armor. Armor that gleamed in silver in the interior lighting of the news office. Seeing Ren leave the office Jaune asked,

"So do we have anything to go on yet?" Jaune said following Ren who proceeded to walk down the halls. Lie Ren looked back at the blonde knight and gave him a look that said 'we have some progress' to which to which Jaune replied "Yeah no one I have talked to has been helpful," the young knight frowned as they continued down the corridor.

"I know, it is a shame Jaune, also where is Artorika?" Ren asked curious as to why Jaune's master was not waiting with him. Though as he asked this Artorika rounded the corner. Behind them and said.

"Worry not, I am here," she said calmly as she caught up to the two other Jedi, "though unfortunately, my investigation revealed nothing" Artorika reported figuring that would be the most proper thing to do as they continued down the corridor.

"Thank you for your help Master Artorika," Ren replied calmly as they walked down the hall as the occasional employee of the news agency looked at them with fear or glared at them with hatred. Something that made the knightly Jedi master frown as they made their way to the airspeeder parking lot. They walked into the main lobby where the party of Jedi found themselves under public scrutiny by the workers who took time out of their day to glare at the Jedi. This burning hatred was extremely concerning to the Jedi.

They walked to their airspeeder thankful that the rain had not started yet. Though as they approached the green environmentally sealed airspeeder. The three Jedi were racked with a feeling of dread and horror. Like a tsunami of negative thoughts slammed into them, radiating out from an epicenter in the outer rim. The trio locked up as the color drained from their faces along with the surrounding environment. To the Jedi, the torrent of despair and agony was unlike anything they had felt from the force before. Though to Artorika this blast felt reminiscent to the one from the Arrival of the Remnants but so much worse.

* * *

As the shock wave hit Coruscant only a few minutes later the shockwave hit Tython. Satele who was walking through the halls back to the council's chambers, froze as the tidal wave of negativity slammed into her. This rushed chills up her spine. She hadn't felt this kind of dread in years, decades even, and that was when the Sith retook Korriban and she lost her master. She glanced around the halls as her body locked with fear. All the Jedi had stopped in place. Though as the wave passed all the Jedi, Satele included, looked up to the stars towards Nar Shaddaa.

* * *

In her quarters Blake felt the wave of dread over take her as she meditated. Her closed eyes embraced the dark emotions that flowed over her. As she sat she received a vision through the force. A vision that taunted her as that hideous accented voice from her dreams. She saw Ruby clad in an outfit that screamed Sith as she was held by the throat. Looking down she saw a smirk on her darkened lips. Her golden eyes piercing into her soul. Though the most concerning sight was the white seemingly ceramic mask that covered the right part of her face with a slot for her eye to see. It was evident by the way the mask was mounted it was to hide some scar or damage. Though on the mask was red markings that looked more in place on a grim mask.

Blake struggled against the gloved metal hand wrapped around her throat, as the haunting voice spoke. "you will have to try harder than that to kill me, Blake," the vision of Ruby taunted with a devilish smirk scrawled on her face. "You are a pathetic Jedi Shadow, while I am a full fledged Darth!" the vision proclaimed, "We are all Darths Blake," It was at this point she saw figures that resembled Weiss, Pyrrha, Nora, and worst of all Yang standing behind Ruby. Glaring at Blake as Ruby tightened her grip, and said one final thing "So Blake I want you to remember one thing, you do not have the right to call me Ruby, to you I am Darth Fleurenoire" as the wave of darkness passed, leaving her mind to clear. Though only one thought burned through the vision and that thought was, _so you will betray me, Yang, so be it, as for the rest of them, they will all die, even if it kills me._ It was with this vision Blake knew she would have to learn the darker techniques of the force.

* * *

Surik too was sitting in her chambers as the wave hit. She was seemingly unaffected by it. Instead, she smiled as the darkness flowed over her. As it did the white-clad Jedi stood with a smile on her face as she said to herself as she felt the point of origin in the turmoil of the force, "Nar Shaddaa? not the planet I predicted, interesting."Surik smiled as she was prepared to respond to the upcoming crisis. She had the Remnants to help defeat what ever She threw at them. "Kreia, now I can finally finish what I started over three centuries ago," Surik smiled as her plan was falling into line and just as she predicted Kreia would make her return to the galaxy and she had been preparing the Jedi to fight them.

* * *

Though there was one more Jedi that was affected by this blast, Karlile like the two prior Jedi was resting in her quarters when the wave hit. She felt the dread and terror of the wave like all the other Jedi, but she felt something else, something in the back of her mind. It was a name as she started to say the name, visions flashed before her eyes. "Cin-" As she started to say that, a vision appeared in her blind eyes, remembering the face of a woman, that looked like darkness incarnate. "der-"when she sounded out that syllable, her mind remembered a life long lost on Remnant. "Fall," as that last name slipped out her back tingled as she felt a power and hunger welling up inside her. A darkness filled her heart as the innocent soul of Karlile was slowly consumed by the original memories that she had.

She remembered that day on Amity, as she clenched her metal hand and cursed the young dark siders that took her limbs. She felt the gnawing half of her powers flowing through her body once again. There was part of her that was absolutely furious at what had occurred years ago on Remnant and that the mother of the Bitch that took her arm and sight rewrote her memories, but there was part of her that wanted to play this out as she was now a wolf in sheep's clothing, she was a trusted Jedi, and she was in the right place to assist her master once the time came. Though right now she needed an ally or allies so establishing contact would have to wait.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, here we have another chapter I hated writing, not in the sense of the events but trying to figure out where to go and how I am going to pace this mess, as I am setting up a lot yet again. So I settled on this so I hope it works, next chapter is going to be continuing back on Nar Shaddaa! Unlike this chapter, I know what I want to do with 45 and hopefully, that will be a heck of a lot better to write and thusly be written a hell of a lot faster. Once again I deeply apologize if this chapter isn't as good as my normal work summer is being summer for me. With that, if there is a lot of issue with this chapter I will edit it so yeah. With that out of the way and considering I really don't have much to say let's get to the Review responses, they have been long over due.**

 **Guest 1: lol thankfully I broke that game's spell so that is over with, but I had amassed a herd of pet Raptors with my pet Jerboa.**

 **Guest 2: Thank you for the praise, always appreciated! The Yang Ruby Reunion is coming but it will be a bit of time before that happens, but I have plenty of fun events in the meantime.**

 **loldelagate: Ditto on the Yang Ruby reunion. Hyperspace travel isn't instant in this AU so please be patient.**

 **hornofdesolation: That is the way I wrote it! I didn't want it to be a surprise for those who paid attention, and you deserve a thank you for paying attention! As for the speculation that is far, far, down the line, and anything could happen.**

 **JSClark: I saved this one for last because by the void I am extremely flattered by that opinion. I am thankful that you enjoy my work that much. To answer your inquiries, Yes the blast through the force was caused by Salem and Mercury as for the eyes I am going to say the Curse of Grimm is looking for those "gifted" by their creator. So I would say see Chapter 31: Waldstahl Burns for what is going on because I don't want to say it Directly. Honestly, Clark, you made my day when I read that Review!**

 **With all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, as anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose! I'll try to have the next chapter out within the month.**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


	45. Chapter 45: Desolation

**A/n still not dead yet sorry Life happened yet again and I got side tracked for some time, and with an update. With that in mind, I present Chapter 45:** **Desolation** **.**

* * *

 **Chapter 45: Desolation.**

* * *

Returning to Nar Shaddaa, in the Hutt Crimelord's warehouse, all of the Remnants stared down the freshly formed Beowolf as more lumps of movement started to form in the inky black river was starting to pool in the room. All of their lightsaber's humming as the dark fog crept closer behind the mysterious wolf. Through the force, those same remnants could feel the pain of Nar Shaddaa. They could feel the Grimm's curse spreading through the world at an alarming rate.

Holding their weapons at the ready, the two Sith managed to somewhat regain their composure. Their fear replaced with an exhilaration. They felt fear, they felt stress, they faced their sworn enemy from Remnant yet again. With that, Pyrrha and Nora looked back at each other, Red and Yellow eyes locking as smiles were carved on their faces as they saw the enemy they trained to fight back on Remnant. They were manifestations of fear, anger, and hatred, something the Sith could feel through the force. Pyrrha began to take the Scepter of Ragnos off of her back, slowly as to not draw the beast's attention. The Grimm seemed to be adjusting themselves to the new world it was born into and this was something Pyrrha was about to exploit. She lined up the scepter with the Beowolf as her. Though before she unleashed the siphon, all of the spirits bound to her cried out in protest in her mind in fear. They feared that would only empower the beasts further.

Though as Pyrrha stood there the creature got its bearings and began to look at the group of Remnants, and growled lowly at them all before charging at them, almost seeming like it recognized the people in front of it. Which made Nora do something unexpected, she blasted the bony masked creature with a blast of force lightning. The blue energy of the lightning dashed through the air in a torrential blast of energy. Though the creature was simply unaffected at a matter of fact it got bigger from the attack. Seeing this response Pyrrha realized what happened, as a matter of fact, all of the force wielding Remnants realized what happened. It absorbed the power.

It was at this point the former bandit leader tried to blast the beast back with a force push, which the beast was more phased by but it still weathered the blast. Seeing Raven deactivated her lightsaber and clicked it into a handled cylinder that had a band that looked to be loaded with dust of all types. Quickly the band rotated and fell onto an orange dust crystal, and with a click, Raven withdrew the hilt of her lightsaber and ignited it. This time the stark white blade being replaced with a burning orange one that looked like a stable version of Pyrrha's blade. After doing this she threw her two-meter long blade into the air right at the neck of the creature.

The whirlwind of flaming energy seared right through the Beowolf's neck, decapitating it, causing its head to slam into the floor as it started to evaporate into its black fog as the orange blade returned to its owner's hands. As the inky black fluid had started have more creatures being birthed from it. Beowolves, Nevermores, Ursa's, Boarbatusks, though new formations were emerging as well. Ozpin knowing of this facet of the Grimm looked at all of the Remnants, he knew this would be a losing battle if they tried to fight the Grimm here and now so he yelled out to all the Remnants.

"Everyone we need get out of here, Now!" Ozpin yelled, Taiyang and Raven agreed, as did the two Sith, who nodded as they had completed their mission. Though Penny looked down at the battered and now petrified Emerald. The synthetic girl was unsure of what to do about the jade haired woman.

"What about her?" Penny asked quickly, though her voice rang with concern as Ozpin and the other Remnants started to turn around and start running for the exit. Ozpin looked at Penny and said.

"If you can carry her, bring her with us," Ozpin explained. With that said Penny deactivated and mounted the two lightsabers onto her belt and picked up the wounded Woman, quickly scooping her up in her arms then flipping her over her shoulder. She then darted off following the group. She wasn't sure on who to follow. She wanted to follow Pyrrha and Nora, but with Ozpin here she also knew she should go with him. As she and the Remnants ran down the main entrance halls all of those with lightsaber had deactivated them and clasped them back onto what ever held them in place.

* * *

As they emerged from the palace, the Remnants saw something that was absolutely petrifying to behold. Nevermores and other various forms of flying Grimm already in the skies above Nar Shaddaa. They were ripping flying vehicles down from the sky and picking up and dropping civilians down the thousands of meters drops between the structures. Many parts of the skyline were smoldering and burning, causing a dense smoke to rise up into the sky and blot out the stars. The Grimm were devastating the city-scape. In the distance the screams of the inhabitants of the world rang through the streets, further accenting the burning orange flames that seared the sky.

Ozpin stopped taking in the horrific sight. He realized in a place like this the Grimm would be unstoppable, so much negativity and life to fuel it, they could become nigh on impossible to fight, as they could reproduce rapidly. He looked back and the rest of the Remnants were also taking in the devastation being wrought upon the world. To the duo of Sith, they were in shock as they realized how truly dangerous the Grimm were. It was at this point Pyrrha took out her scroll and opened it to contact Winter, but she was interrupted by Ozpin.

"We need to leave this planet," Ozpin muttered to all the Remnant around him. As much as he wanted to help, the true power of the Grimm was being unleashed upon this world. This pain and suffering made him sick that he could not help. He realized the Grimm might have been designed to be used to reek havoc on worlds like this, due to the shear amount of damage being inflicted. Though he realized that there was no time to ponder on the purpose of the creatures of Grimm. "Let's go! Our ship is this way" He yelled out. Hearing that they had a ship Pyrrha and Nora looked at each other. They knew they couldn't risk the Specter in such a hostile environment. So the two determined sticking with Ozpin would be the best bet to getting off this planet.

Walking further down the streets all of the Remnants could smell the odors of death and war on the winds. The Grimm seemingly frenzied in all of the destruction. It was this sight that made Taiyang's stomach churn. Though after he stopped for a second he returned saying.

"Ozpin, we need to help these people," Taiyang said causing Ozpin to stop and turn to face his friend, unsure of what to say. He looked around, the skyline was in flames, the sounds of death and Grimm filled the air. Ozpin had seen the devastation that the Creatures of Grimm numerous times before, though, on this scale, the headmaster was demoralized. The amount of destruction was almost quantifiable by Remnant standards. His voice saddened, he responded with.

"Tai, I know our duty, but this is on a scale much too large for us to dream of handling, and right now we need to get out of here, then we can get help for this world," Ozpin explained, he hated that he had to leave a Grimm infested moon, but no force or contingent of Remnants could deal with a situation like this. It was at this point Ozpin spoke again explaining, trying to remind the Remnant's of Remnant with, "Besides this is not our galaxy nor home, we should let the Republic or Empire handle it, we don't belong here."

This line upset the Remnants, specifically Penny, Nora, and Pyrrha, who had come to view this galaxy as their new home. While the Taiyang was much more upset that they couldn't do anything to help this world, but to him, Ozpin had a point, there was nothing they could do at the moment, they could not rid the planet of the Grimm, as this planet seemed to deal with their full wrath.

Though overhead they saw the formation of what looked like a mythical dragon Grimm, already flying above. The sight of which made all of those in the group look up in shock. Ozpin knew that these creatures normally took centuries to form, yet he was seeing one already growing. It was at this moment he realized the true intention of the Grimm, they were not a terror exclusive to Remnant, no they were a weapon of mass destruction, constructs hell bent on destroying life. All the while growing stronger as they fed.

They saw the disgusting black fluid seeping from the Grimm Dragon's flesh, which upon hitting the ground spawned even more of the Grimm. Though as this had them distracted and shocked, a crash came from behind from the Hutt's palace. The walls had given way to the brute force of the Grimm. Though what emerged was even more terrifying than the Grimm of Remnant.

Its snaggle-toothed jaw lined with razor-sharp bony teeth. Its piggish hideous face covered by a bony mask covered with red markings, as readied its massive claws on its hands. This creature was massive, each step caused the ground to shake, as its flaming eyes locked on the remnants as it roared out. It looked like the type of thing a crimelord would keep under his main hall to dispose of people he did not care for. Pyrrha and Nora had never seen such a creature. As a matter of fact, none of the remnants had seen a Grimm like this, though Taiyang had seen the form this creature, though he could not remember its name.

When this creature started to charge, Raven walked forward, gesturing back to Ozpin to get the group back to the ship. At which point Taiyang was about to protest but Raven leered back through her mask. It was a look that Tai knew from when they were team STRQ, it was the look of, 'I've got this.' Igniting the stark white blade of her saber Raven smiled under her mask, this she wanted to be the first to kill this new breed of Grimm. Gripping the lengthened hilt in it balance point. Raising the blade up she slid her hand up the hilt and hit the red switch on the control panel. Inside the hilt, the focus crystals altered their orientation, causing the flaming orange beam of energy to lengthen to two meters. As she leaped in the air her blade trailing behind her.

As Raven engaged the creature Ozpin looked at the party and yelled out, "Don't worry she will cover us," though before they could get moving Pyrrha saw another Grimm tear out of the darkness. It looked to be a beowolf at a glance. A part of her chilled heart was struck and she drew and ignited her saber, its flaming orange blade darting through the air as her loose pink hair trailed behind her. Following her friend, Nora extended her hilt then ignited her warbling pink blade as she lunged into the fray.

Raven cursed, as her lightsaber was not doing as much damage as she expected it to. Despite the length of the blade and its power, it seemed the white bony plate of the Grimm hid another interesting secret, an immunity to lightsabers. Though as she realized this fact she barely heard the creature lunge up behind her. Cursing as she broke off from fighting the hideous new form of Grimm. As she darted back the creature behind her was closing its jaws in a harsh snap. If she had moved a moment later her arm or more would be in that foul creature's mouth. Though she saw a swipe of flaming orange that took off the aggressive Beowolf's head. Though before her mind could comprehend what she had witnessed, the hulking beast she just attacked swiped at her with its huge hand slamming down onto the hard duracrete street. Though she rolled out of the way of its next attack, then leaped back up on to her feet to see a blur of pink energy dart by, accelerated by the force.

Getting back on her feet, she saw the two Sith moving in a coordinated attack on the New Grimm form. Their sabers barely scratching the bony plates of the beast, though it was fully capable of harming them and it proved that by slamming Nora back with it large taloned hand causing her aura to pulse its pink hue. Knowing that this foe would not be defeated in the conventional manner Nora began to start pulsing her body with force lightning. Though as she charged up. The beast roared once more, calling more of it's Grimm brethren to its location.

With its roar, Ozpin looked at Taiyang, he knew that he would have to assist. "Mister Xiao Long, Get back to the ship and make it ready to leave," Taiyang looked at Ozpin like he was insane, he was not going to leave Raven or the two members of Ruby's team. Ozpin expected as much from a caring father so he pre-empted the expected 'I am not leaving' statement with, "Tai, get Miss Polendina and the wounded girl back to the ship," With that Taiyang glared Ozpin but he understood why he was saying this, he wanted to get the ship ready so he turned begrudgingly though as he did Ozpin had one final order. "Tai, please, if we do not make it get Miss Polendina back to Revan so do not wait more than fifteen minutes after reaching the ship."

"Are you sure about that Oz?" Taiyang said looking back, his voice ringing with concern as Ozpin ignited the green blade of his lightsaber after he took off his sports shades that covered his eyes and dropped his trench coat.

"I am positive Tai," Ozpin said with finality as Taiyang heard this he bolted over to Penny saying telling her to follow him, she didn't want to leave but saw no better option.

By this point Nora had fully charged her body as she leaped forward, her body crackling with blue sparks as she jumped into the air, like a furious storm. As she jumped her legs cracked in a very disconcerting way, causing pain to course through her body as she darted through the air towards the Beast. This caused her sulfur colored eyes to light up with insanity as she smiled wickedly.

Pyrrha saw the pink blur as she tried to exploit a gap in the armor, but a duracrete cracking stomp from the lumbering beasts stubby legs threw the Sith slightly off kilter. Seeing the opening the keen beast had made, it raised its clawed hand to smash, though Pyrrha responded by force jumping backward. Rasing her Orange blade she saw another burning blade dart in with a precise slice on the Arm that just slammed down on the floor. As she attacked her blade lost it's orange flame as the dust emitter lens burned out, causing the blade to shift to stark white mid slice.

After the slice, there was a satisfying thud as the log like forearm fell immobile on the ground only attached to its owner by a thick strand of dark flesh. Though with another quick slice from the now stark white blade it fell completely free from the beast in a smokey death. As the beast roared in pain, a pink blur slammed into its head.

* * *

CRACK!

Looking up to see the origin of the sharp crack, all of the Remnants who were their saw Nora stabbing the spiked end of her saber into the beast's bony skull, and the spike of Blodsvard. Though standing atop the beast, they could see that her for arms had taken a distinct, sickly bow to them, as they bent from impact shattering the bones in Nora's arms. In a quick pink pulse and another sicking rattle of cracks, Nora's arms righted themselves, bending back into shape as she kept her balance on the beast's head. Ripping the spike out, she slammed it down again in another loud crack and the beast roared out again as the spike of Blodsvard cracked the bony armor even more.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Each hit accompanied by an increasingly verbose and intense psychotic laughter. Nora herself was trying to hit the shatter point on the Grimm's head plate, though her damaged arms and the creature's movements made it very difficult to hit the exact spot. Though as she raised her arms for another strike, the beserker was slammed by a swooping beast. One that the call of the entire party knew, a Nevermore. Though the swooping Grimm made a fatal error when attacking Nora, the pulsing pink blade of her lightsaber was in the air. Which caused the huge bird Grimm to slice its belly open on the blade as it slammed her down.

Nora's aura took the brunt the impact onto the Duracrete as her saber was launched out of her hands. It's safety being engaged as it flew, deactivating its blade thought the point embedded itself. As she rolled out the way of the falling corpse of the Nevermore she found herself face to face with a snorting boarbatusk. Lunching back, Nora began charging her muscles yet again with more lightning. She blasted forth and slammed the Grimm with a sharp kick to the head which took it straight off of the dark creature's body. Though the kick gave the sandy orange haired Sith a sharp pain in her leg as the bone shattered even more. After which Nora retrieved her weapon.

While Nora dealt with the boarbatusk that engaged her, Pyrrha and Raven kept up the pressure on the now furious one armed beast. Raven was attempting to deal beast by attempting to attack it's other remaining arm. This was while Pyrrha was trying to exploit gaps in the armor with minimal success. As she just dodged another attack one of the sith spirits tethered to her spoke out,

"Noxcaedis, stow your saber and draw The Blade," The spirit's voice said, calmly then the rest of the ancient voices came forward, echoing and chanting, "Draw the Blade!" Pyrrha heard them and lowered her saber as she leaped back. Disengaging her saber and slotting it onto her belt. After which she slotted onto her belt. Then she reached around to grab the base of her scepter, and pulled out the concealed blade. Though as she unsheathed the blade a green blur of a blade darted past. Moving extremely fast, the blur connected with the Grimm's monster's skull. Crack, Crack CRACK. Pyrrha connected the speed to something likened to Ruby but it was different it was like what she was watching was accelerated, normal moments moving so much faster than they should. Though the most shocking thing was, who it was. It was Ozpin expanding Nora's breach of the skull like mask with his cane, at which point he rotated the weapon down and shoved the blade of the saber down into the beasts head. as it gave one last pained roar before it's existence was snuffed out by the green blade. Ozpin withdrew the blade as he rode the disintegrating Grimm to the duracrete with a loud thud.

As they look past the corpse the saw a tide of Grimm approaching from behind known forms and new forms unseen by the Remnants, even a few more of the same beast they just saw roared through the streets. They ripped down the street toward the Remnants, even the two Sith even realized they were no match for such a tide. Ozpin then yelled out, "Pyrrha! Nora! Follow us, we have a ship!"

Raven hearing this, realized that running from this type of onslaught would be suicidal. There were simply too many Grimm to run. Accessing her semblance prepared her ability as she focused her mind on the location of the thunderclap. As she established the connection, she yelled out"Ozpin, let me handle this!" as she opened the vortex to the ship, the red vortex swirling to the vessel's interior. Signaling the three remaining Remnants, Raven stood near the portal as Ozpin darted through the crimson vortex. Nora and Pyrrha looked at each other, then the growling and snarling horde of Grimm then back at each other once again to confirm their action. Both Nora and Pyrrha realized their only option as they didn't want to risk a landing from the spectre and they had the ability to escape another way and bolted to and through the vortex.

They all ran through, the sound of duracrete beneath their heels was soon replaced with the metallic clacks of the interior of a starship. Looking around the two sith realized the must be in some kind of Cargohold. They looked around the brightly lit room as Ozpin and Raven bolted through the door down the hallway and quickly tore around the corner they hear Ozpin yell.

"Tai, are we ready to leave yet? we need to get going now!" Ozpin yelled out as he ran. They could hear his reply but they could not make it out. With a quick glance they realized they should follow, and thusly they did. Walking down the hall that looked like the entrance to the ship, then up to the main hold, which they saw plenty of doors around the perimeter of the room. Though they saw a second set of stairs next to the hall they just came from. Figuring they went up those stairs they walked up into the dull red light of the cockpit as Taiyang was clacking away at the controls as the engine spooled up.

* * *

Outside the vessel, the engines roared to life as the repulsors lifted the vessel off of the landing pad. Though above the ship the something took notice of the movement, a few larger Nevermores, and a growing Grimm Dragon. Though as the engines roared to life they all began to swoop downward.

* * *

Inside the vessel, Penny was in the medical bay as Emerald was secured to the medical bench under Taiyang's orders in case the ride got bumpy. Penny had packed Emeralds wound and any residual bleeding was staunched. Even though the jade haired girl was unconscious, she was muttering slightly something about the Grimm. At that point, Penny was thankful for her medical analysis programs as she could tell the extent of the damage.

The synthetic girl could not believe what was happening, after these few years. Emerald and Mercury had been her friends, yet today she saw them for what they truly were. They had not changed since that day at Amity, and they had betrayed her. This thought was ended when she heard Ozpin yelling as he ran through to get to the cockpit. She sighed they thankful they did make it back, looking out she then saw Pyrrha and Nora run past, she was thankful they had made it as well, though she did not fully trust them either as they seemed to have changed so much. They, after all, were allied with darkness, yet they showed her mercy.

Since Emerald was secured, Penny walked out of the medical bay as the engine came to life. Sighing, Penny realized she would finally be leaving this planet, this planet which she spent all of her time in this new galaxy. She had been on a few ships to help 'resolve disputes in pay and trade,' with Mercury and Emerald but nothing outside the system. She was told it was a custom on this world to do that kind of work for the Hutts but she knew what they made her do put blood on her hands, but she felt like she was going to get a second chance, as it seemed all in this galaxy had some kind of blood on their hands.

Walking up the steps to the cockpit, she saw all of the Remnants were there, as she ship propelled through the smog and smoke filled sky which could be seen. Though, the console started to chime beep and make multiple warning sounds. These alarms stole Taiyangs attention, causing him to glance down at the console. Looking at the radar and scanner he cursed, He had numerous contacts tailing him. Clicking a switch, he further cursed as she saw numerous flying Grimm swarming toward the ship. Seeing a break in the Skyline, Tai ripped controls, causing RCS controls to fire to pull the ship towards they sky, as he did this he cursed this ship for its lack of rotary turrets.

"Hold on this could get rough!" He yelled out as the ship angled to the stars. Outside the ship, the Grimm flock grew large and dove into the pitching upward ship. Nevermores, Griffons and even one of the large Dragon, threw themselves at the ship. Sinking their claws into the hull, holding on like they would to a Remnant Airship, peeling off the paneling. Their claws severing large swaths of systems as they ripped into the ship. Though one nevermore that took hold near the Engine did the most damage as it stabbed it's beak into the section above the hull, causing a fatal outward blast that blasted the Grimm raven's head clean off its body. This blast caused the engines to start to belch out black smoke. With the loss of power, the ship began to tumble down, back into the cityscape below.

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh, I am sorry this took so long to do, life is life, and life can be annoying at times. Considering I am back at college now. Alongside this I have been very concerned about how I wanted to handle this Chapter, I wanted it to include another half, but I am going to hold that back till after the next chapter, so sorry once again for the cliff hanger, but I have some interesting plans for the for the continuation chapter.**

 **As for the next Chapter, I think I left some unresolved ocular trauma to occur at Waldstahl, that needs some explaining. With that in mind off to the Review Responses.**

 **thepipehasbeengobbled: On Remnant, they may not be much of a threat, due to the very low Population of the planet, around 100 million I would say as my best estimate under the best circumstances. but on a Moon built up to the ludicrous amounts of Nar Shaddaa which could easily have Billions all of which having fear and terror that can be exploited, I think the Grimm could have a bountiful feast and with other factors in their aid, they could overwhelm a world very quickly indeed, as the Grimm have a few secrets to them in my story.**

 **Sani2341: Oh I love it when people call out errors like that I made, cause it gives me so many good ideas to correct minor issues like that, I mean I could just retcon it to phrik, but where is the fun in that, I will explain where he sourced from it in the next chapter. Needless to say, it was taken from somewhere and the material itself could be considered an artifact. Just some fun hints.**

 **Buzzsaw935: Yeah, she is doing some very interesting things as a Jedi.**

 **JS Clark: I may take my time and life may get in the way but I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! As for Cinder that is going to be a wait and see plan as she is known for her planning so it very well could be interesting.**

 **hornofdesolation: Thank you as always!**

 **Guest: I was just saying that as most games and movies don't really depict how long it can take.**

 **With all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


	46. Chapter 46: Further Information Needed

**A/N: Ugh, life scorns me so at times. The deepest apologies on taking as long as I did, I have had a lot of personal stress as of late, which has sapped me of my will to write, but I got this chapter done, finally. So without further wait, Chapter 46: Further Information Needed.**

* * *

 **Chapter 46: Further Information Needed**

* * *

Returning to Waldstahl, Buckling from the pain in their eyes after the wave of darkness passed. The two stoic eyepatched sith and the gilded eye Sith fell to the floor, almost convulsing in pain as their screams echoed through the room. The two consumed by the pain in their eyes, while the third was feeling the pain of there partner. To the two being directly affected felt like molten metal was just poured into their eye. With that burning came to an interesting effect as the hands that were clutching their eyes were engulfed in a colored pulse of flame, Viridian's a cyan like green, Weiss an icy blue, Ruby had no such effect, but she still felt the pain. The three Dark Councilors and the two officers and Khem watched the scene unfolding before him.

Weiss and Malserik's screams echoed as their pain-wracked their body, the burning flames erupting from under their hands, giving off heat but not hurting their hands the flames pulsed with a bright light. The pain being at the worst the Sith had ever felt in their lives. Weiss's aura was pulsing at what was being perceived as damage. Imperious darted over to Malserik, while Neo and Roman went over to tend to the girls. Though as they did the pain stopped and the flame receded.

The three were still in shock but Ruby was the first to recover, Snapping up as she opened her gold eyes, unchanged. Uncupping her eye she scrambled past Neo who was in the process of going to help Ruby. She went over to Weiss with a frantic fear, as she felt the force around her and Malserik was in turmoil. Their bodies relaxed as they panted, their eyes feeling different, almost like their vision had been altered, but neither dared remove their hands as they both knew what the consequence could be if they did if they did. Though they both felt like something unlocked with their eyes.

Weiss and Viridian's one exposed eye were met by gold and blue eyes of concern and worry respectively. They barraged their partners with the usual questions of 'are you alright,' and 'what was that?' The two 'one-eyed Sith' looked at each other, their minds just trying to comprehend what just happened. Figuring they needed to see what had changed, Malserik spoke as he stood back up.

"Well, I think we are fine now, but please excuse us as we go investigate what happened to our eyes," Malserik said politely to the all of those in the room. Weiss started to stand by this point as Malserik continued saying as he walked up to the door, "Imperious, please keep Marr and Jadus company in my absence,"

"I am going to investigate as well, so please pardon my absence," Weiss said quickly wanted to see what happened immediately. Ruby gave her a look that told her she was going to tag along, knowing the danger's associated this ability, she continued by saying, "Ruby, stay here please, this is a matter for Viridian and I to deal with." Her voice was cold to Ruby, she hated to do this but Malserik had told her to always be on guard with this ability. Along with that, she was still upset with Ruby due to what they discussed earlier about her not informing her about Imperious's methods of education. With that said her and Malserik went out the still opened doors, covering their eyes. Malserik signaled for Weiss to follow him, as if there was a significant change, he would want to discover it with her, as it was her curse now as much as his own.

Though as he walked the proper Sith felt different, like there was something there. He felt like something became known to him, like a secret lost over time. He felt tense as this feeling made his skin crawl. Almost like something was trying to manifest. Behind him, he looked at Weiss in her snowy cloak as an odd gust of wind filled the hallway. Causing his coat to flutter along with Weiss's cloak. He knew not how this wind moved, as the structure was resealed for the most part. It almost felt like it connected to the odd feeling he was having.

Weiss looked at her master, her icy eye locking with his green eye. She could tell by the way he looked that something was off with her master. Especially with the turmoil in the air around him. As she tried to approach to ask what was wrong the air moved in strange ways around her master. This shift in the flow of air concerned her, as the force was not tied to its movement and thus she commented with.

"Viridian? Is everything okay?" Weiss spoke, her voice calm yet concerned. Malserik looked back as the odd wind ceased with a sharp suddenness, causing a fluttering in both her cloak and his coat. With the secession of the rogue wind, Weiss continued saying, "and that is why I was asking, that wind was centered on you."

"Honestly, Weiss, I don't know," Malserik replied, focusing on the odd feeling spreading throughout his body. He hated this, he did not know what was happening, so he clenched his fist. He knew he had to carry on, he had to find out what was going on with his eye. "We have no time to dwell on that, I would much prefer to find out what is going on with my eye." With that Weiss could agree, she had only just gotten this accursed sight, and she hated the thought of the Rules Malserik told her of related to her eye being changed. She prayed the deal had not been altered.

* * *

Back in the study, Ruby and Imperious were needless to say concerned about there respective partners. Marr and Jadus found themselves further concerned with the event as it bore a very bad omen. As these Sith had felt these types of disturbances twice before, but nothing like that wave if dread. It was almost if the dark side of the force unleashed itself upon Nar Shaddaa. Needless to say, such a disturbance would cause great concern from the Dark Council. The three Dark Councilors knew this event would most likely this would call a meeting. Though the room stood silent for about a minute after Weiss and Malserik left, it was Ruby who broke the silence in frustration.

"What the hell just happened?!" Ruby exclaimed, inquiring in general as she was completely unfamiliar with what just happened. Her spine still tingling as her eye still stung from the wave of the dark blast.

"I do not know, Lady Rose" Marr replied calmly, still feeling the wake of turmoil the blast left. As Jadus was analyzing the aftershock that was still flowing through the force. Imperious felt a sense of dread as her heart sank as she realized. The origin of the blast was Nar Shaddaa, she could feel that was the epicenter. Her eyes went wide, though to the concern of those around her they rolled back into her head and she fell to the floor, as Ruby caught her, knowing she was going into another vision.

* * *

In her mind, Imperious saw her first vision. A black tide, unending, unwavering filled the streets of Waldstahl. She witnessed the streets become engulfed in flames, as various forms and derivations of a similar form, along with those vastly unknown and different to the Sith observing them. A hellish looking beast circling overhead, its black and red wings and bony white face. A black ink like fluid falling from its flesh to the streets below. These sickly disgusting drops formed into yet more of the creatures kin. Then her vision focused as it normally did. It focused on the four knights, they were fighting back to back, their sabers blaring. Their cloaks in tatters, blood dripping from their panting exhausted bodies.

Though as they fought, Pyrrha was grabbed, and torn into the crowd of white-masked beasts, eviscerating her body. This made the knights scream causing the force to ripple through their bodies. Though that was not enough as The next to fall was Nora, then Weiss, both falling in the same way. Though as Weiss fell, a whirlwind of red energy followed her into the horde but there was nothing that could be done it seemed. It was at which point Imperious vision faded to black as a raspy dark voice said.

"If they do not adapt to my gift then you will be doomed to failure." This voice was followed by an immeasurable amount of pain. Then a cold unflinching darkness with two glowing red-orange eyes. The type of eyes that were ignited with hatred. The type that even a Sith could fear as they seemed to yearn, hunger, lust for the dark side of the force. Imperious was not unused to Sith of old visiting her, but she never thought she would see him. His black deathly cloak unfurling as his orange eyes shined through his white bone mask.

* * *

Though as that vision faded away, another materialized before her eyes was an interesting one, she was standing in what looked like a cathedral, red light flowing in from what looked like a crystal field outside she saw the knights and Malserik at her side, though she saw Malserik and Weiss did not bare their eye patches. She could not see their eyes, but she knew something was strange about them. Then in front of her, she saw other Sith staring them down. They had faces she had never seen before, yet they all had red blades ready for combat, though they seemed slightly scared of them.

Glancing into the peripheral vision, she saw why. The six of them, no seven of them, there was a fifth to their ranks of the knights she did not see. She could not identify her, but she stood tall with them violet and crimson blades in hand. Though what was most interesting was how they were flanked by what looked like the beasts from the last vision though they seemed almost to be allies. Tamed like pets she could see webs forming between them and members of the seven-person party. She couldn't distinguish what they were or what they represented, but they seemingly had the Sith in front of them concerned. Though the one in the center, the one that looked like a living manifestation of the taint of the dark side, looked unfazed by them, almost as if such an ability was mere party tricks. Her eyes of black and red staring down the group of seven.

Staring them down, this woman's party was the first to move. To which the party of seven replied in kind unleashing a counter charge. As that occurred the vision faded to black for the seer Sith. Further accented by the same Sith saying, "I know of your plan, and She must fall if you are to succeed!"

* * *

In the study, Marr and Jadus witnessed Imperious slip into unconsciousness. Needless to say, they did not expect this. Seeing Imperious pass out seemingly at random made them wonder if she was narcoleptic. If that was the case that would explain why she rarely was ever physically present for Dark Council meetings. It would also because for her isolation, as they figured she would want such a disorder to be kept a well-hidden secret.

Though the most shocking thing was not the narcolepsy, but with how her apprentice reacted. The way Lady Rose caught her, and gently lowered her to the floor as the two officers and the Dashade made sure she was alright as well. There was a legitimate caring for her, they were friends. To most Sith, this type of a relationship would be found to be detestable, but it seemed to work when it happened.

"Lady Rose, does this happen often?" Jadus asked, critical and evaluating, to see if such a thing could become a liability. Ruby looked up at the silver-masked Sith, baring a look of confusion. She was unsure of what to say, as the way he spoke made her feel like he was trying to evaluate it as a weakness. To which Ruby knew these things only happened when she wanted them to, or the force had to reveal something, but she never once dropped in the middle of a fight or training to her knowledge. With this information, Ruby replied to the initial question with.

"Not enough for it to become a problem if that is what you are asking?" The silver-masked Sith looked at the young woman skeptically through his mask. Her reply seemed honest, despite this, another figure in the room had to speak.

"My Master strength should not be under question," He said in his strange tongue, though all of those in the room could understand him due to the translators they had. His way of speaking was still foreign to all of those who had never dealt with Imperious's servant. Though a quick grumble from the floor alerted everyone present that, the third of the three Dark Councilors awoke. Utterly confused, she sat up glancing around. Wondering was what was meant by what the Sith of old said to her. Who was that white-haired woman, how did she fit into her plan? With asking that, her mind went back to her first vision, what were those gifts did the Lord of Hunger mentioned. She immediately knew that it had something to do with Weiss and Malserik, though what was this gift, their cursed eyes? Imperious couldn't figure it out, she knew how both Weiss and Viridian viewed their eyes. Nothing could be an improvement on those things. One thing she knew was, she needed to adjust the plans to suit her needs.

As she sat up Ruby, who was still knelt down next to her former master. Khem Val, also knelt down and assisted her so she could sit up as the Dashade knew the jarring nature of some of her visions could leave her in a daze, once she sat up the hulking assassin asked Imperious, "Is everything okay, my master?"

"Yes, I am fine you two," Imperious spoke as she stood back up, without the assistance of Ruby or her longtime Dashade Ally. As she did she cursed, almost wanting to make an attempt on Marr or Jadus for what they just witnessed. Though she knew she would stand no chance against them without Malserik or Weiss present. She stood up tall, back straight as she looked at Marr and Jadus, She knew they were not stupid, and that they may know that was a curse of the Visorium bloodline.

"As for you two," She spoke her focus shifting onto Marr and Jadus,"you will not speak of this." her voice went cold as an ice world as she continued with her explanation of, "It is a unique curse I alone bare, fret not it doesn't happen when I am needed" Imperious explained calmly her as she dusted off her clothes. After which Imperious smiled playfully at the two Darths and walked around the obsidian topped desk. She took a seat in Malserik's chair, and by the force did she love the chair. Though as she had a seat the more secretive of the two spoke up asking another curiosity since he had the chance.

"Well, Imperious, since Malserik is not present, could you explain how he obtained the information that allowed us to purge our government of Republic spies?" Jadus asked calmly, This line of questioning took all of the Remnant's in the room by surprise, especially since Ruby was still present, as she was the interrogator. Though her discomfort was amplified when Imperious leveled a finger at her.

* * *

Away from the study, Weiss and Malserik had reached Malserik's quarters. The sparse room was where the duo had decided to examine their eyes. Malserik was in his bathroom while Weiss was in the main room. Malserik had handed her a handled mirror, and they sat with no ways that they could see the other. Malserik was the first to undo his eyepatch as he did he noted some very substantial differences already apparent on the skin, the palor of the skin had changed, as well as the darkened skin around said eye. It had pitch black veins almost feeding into the eye from the side of the face.

Once he had the patch off he looked in shock at the eye. It was twisted, the sclera turned pitch black, though the iris was a vibrant Jade, like his other eye, though it looked brighter almost luminous. He peeled the patch down in shock as it looked cleaner than it did before. It didn't look sick, it just looked proper evil, like a glowing green iris floating in a black void. He recoiled from the change, his heart thumping out of the terror. It was accented by the bone white flesh almost too perfectly. He shivered to think what happened to the eye, what new ability or curse it held that would tear his life asunder. He felt the eye, it felt off, as if it was a conduit through the force that tethered to his very being. It also felt like it wanted to be used, as if it was hungry, wanting to leach the force from a living being.

Outside the bathroom, Weiss did the same, undoing the knot on her eyepatch that cloaked her left eye. She was shocked as she saw how pale the skin had become like the skin lost all of what little remaining pigment was left in it. She felt chills as her eyepatch fell as the undone strings fell revealing her now even further changed eye. The first thing she noted was the blue ring that was the iris. It was glowing a light cold blue, though as she looked she saw the blackened Sclera. She saw how unnatural it was, as it contrasted with her normal eye.

It looked better than the sickly pink and yellow it was just a week prior. Though as she looked at it and studied it, she saw the black vein-like markings on her faces. As she followed them with her fingers they looked like they fed into the corrupted eye from her cheek. Even overlapping her once so prominent scar on her left eye. She maneuvered the mirror to get a better look at the marks and found they didn't look fully repugnant. The major oddity was how the pain seemed to be gone. Instead, it felt odd as her vision took up a blue hue in that eye. It also felt focused and more attuned to the force, like the force itself was shifting in her eye. Though there was a yearning almost like a hunger also attached to it.

As she looked at the eye, she kind of thought it looked slightly beautiful in a twisted demonic way. The way the iris floated in the blackness of her eye made her wish she could keep it exposed to the world.

"Black Sclera and glowing iris?" Malserik asked calmly to confirm that her apprentice had similar symptoms. Weiss frown and replied with.

"Extremely pale skin and black vein markings feeding into the eye from the cheek?" This response got Malserik to frown and sigh as he slumped over his sink. His mind was in shambles wondering what the void of an eye he now possessed had become. Though he did have an interesting idea, he knew Weiss would object, but he had to see if it was possible.

"Weiss I am going to walk out of my bathroom, if you could please, look at me with your eye," Malserik explained he wanted to know if the eye prevented an immunity to other users of the same ability. Weiss cringed as he asked her to do that, she wondered what he was thinking, and why he would ask such a thing. Though her answer was given as he continued, "I know your concern but we need to know if we are immune to each other's gaze. If I start feeling pain cover your eye." Weiss couldn't argue that point, it would be a useful thing to know. So with that, she gave her confirmation and the test began.

* * *

Back in the study, Imperious admitted truthfully what happened, she told them of the Jedi attack, the way Waldstahl burned and of course how her former apprentice decimated the mind of a Jedi to acquire. The way Imperious explained her exploits in the interrogation made her blush as it was slightly embellished. Though despite these explanations of Ruby and her abilities, the other two Sith only had one thought on their mind, _the Republic attacked Hiskal?!_ They stood in shock as they figured the rogue Jedi explanation was a bit of a farce, but this was absurd, they needed to retaliate for this assault on their throne world.

"Imperious, how long would you have held that secret? Why were you holding that as a secret?" Marr asked as concerned, as Jadus continued with all due haste to say.

"Imperious, We must retaliate, we cannot let this go unpunished!" Jadus barked through his helmet as Imperious sat at Malserik's desk with a smile. She knew this would be the reaction that they would get to which she replied.

"As happy as I would be to see the war continued, we simply are not ready for such a conflict," Imperious explained, "Our ground forces are poultry to the Republic's, our fleets still need to be repaired and replenished, also can you expect to continue a war while the rebellion's on Balmorra and other systems still fight on? Lastly, I would like to continue the war once Vitiate has been removed, as with him at the helm, we would not win. So we need to be patient." With her reason out to be heard, Marr and Jadus got the answer as to why Malserik was so focused on getting his weaponry and equipment through trials, along with why they lied to cover for the Republic. Though she did not let them respond, "Besides, it isn't like the Jedi will go unpunished, once my agents on Nar Shaddaa Return, Malserik and I will make sure they pay us restitution for the damages, in the form of Holocrons and other valuable artifacts." with this article of the plan explained

"And if they don't pay up?" Marr asked quite curious of what they could do to ensure payment. With that asked, Imperious smirked and explained, interlacing her fingers.

"Well, I think we would have to sack Tython, and eliminate the Jedi, Marr." Imperious smiled as Ruby stood there. Ruby knew of most of the elements of this plan. Due to the Remnant's that served the Jedi, she was hesitant on the sacking of Tython part, though she did want to repay Blake for her treachery, and put De Sang through Satele's heart for what she did to her. Even thinking about it made her right side twinge in pain from the burns.

* * *

Returning to Malserik's quarters, Viridian had entered Weiss's gaze, his back turned for her safety. though much to their surprise he felt nothing. Not even the slightest inkling of pain. This caused him to smile greatly. As either, it meant it was disarmed, or he was just immune to the gaze. He turned and looked at Weiss, who nodded at him, to test if it was reciprocal.

Viridian lowered the hand that covered his eye and once uncovered they saw each other's eyes. Voids of black but rings of blue and green locked. Neither flinching, neither in pain. They were able to look at someone without them disintegrating into ash. He looked at his former apprentice in shock. He started to smile, he found someone that would not die if he slipped up.

It was in that moment Weiss was embraced in a hug as Malserik's emotions got the better of him. She felt the tears roll off of his face as he just muttered. "Could it be possible?" Weiss had never seen her former master break down like this, so she was taken aback by this as Malserik was so thankful that at least one person was safe from his accursed sight. Weiss could tell that these tears were tears of joy, and thus hugged him back. She remembered the conversation they had about said curse after Weiss obtained it. She knew of Talos, she knew of all of his fears relating to his eye. He had lived with it for years where Weiss had barely had it for a month but she could already understand his pain as she had to keep her eye covered as well. If it wasn't for the force she would have plenty of depth perception issues, though that was beside the point, they didn't have to hide their eyes anymore if they were disarmed.

After a few minutes of sobbing and his mind running wild, Malserik regained his composure and released his former apprentice. Though as he released her, he noted the odd wind was back, circling them. He had no idea what it was or what it could signify. Though, Weiss had noticed the return of the winds before he did. Weiss had a theory. As Malserik went to retrieve his eye patch she pulled out her scroll and opened the Aura monitor and as Malserik emerged with his eye patch in hand she had her answer, and it didn't make any sense and just made her a lot of mental questions.

 _Where did this come from? He never had one before, so why now, does one show up? What the hell was that blast earlier, as this did not exist before then._ Weiss was utterly confused by the green bar that was registering under the image of Malserik from her camera. He had an Aura, and thus a Semblance. This caused Weiss's jaw to lax slightly, which prompted Malserik to ask of Weiss.

"hey what is wrong, Weiss?" Malserik asked concerned why Weiss would be distraught after they just found out the could not harm the other. She was looking at her scroll, something she only did to either communicate or examine her aura reserves, which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"Viridian, I think you may want to see this," She muttered as she handed him her scroll. What he saw made him look at the device with skepticism. When Weiss and Malserik were training, they tried to find if he could have an Aura, and he didn't, yet now he did according to this device. Looking at this he also had way too many questions, and he only knew of one place to get them. Nihilus's Holocron.

"Weiss put your patch back on, we need to go back to the Archive," Malserik explained calmly as determination washed over his face, he wanted to know what was going on, and now. "InformImperious and Ruby to meet us there and for someone to see to our two guests" With that, Malserik handed Weiss her scroll back, which meant she could send out the message for Ruby and Ceres to meet them in the archive.

* * *

Returning to the office of Malserik once more, Marr and Jadus by this point had deduced that Imperious had quite the scheme planned and that she did at the very least have contingencies planned if things did not work out. They knew they weren't getting the full picture of her plan, though that did not matter, they knew that they at least had one person on the Dark Council that that could somewhat trust. They didn't care for how secretive she was with her plans beyond returning the favor to the Jedi. Though to them, it was a logical move to not show all the cards you had.

"Well then, Marr and Jadus, if that is all, I think we are done here," Imperious smiled pleasantly, as the two Sith nodded, responding with.

"Yes, that will be all, Imperious, we will be in contact," Jadus said as he walked towards the door as Roman and Neo moved up to prepare to escort them to a shuttle. Though as Marr was about to turn he said to Imperious,"I am glad my decision to make you a Darth so you may sit on the Dark Council has not come to waste." Marr admitted he turned around and walked out of the room with Neo and Roman in toe despite the discomforting presence the two Sith gave off. With them gone it was just Ruby, Imperious and Khem Val.

There was a general sigh of relief from Ruby and Imperious, as Khem Val spoke once again, focusing on his master. "My Lord, Am I still needed?" He asked calmly as he was rushed out here to deal with Marr, Jadus, if the situation required it, Weiss and Ruby. Imperious sighed and looked at the other person that had been there since the start, other than Viridian. Sadly she had been neglecting her Dashade ally as she remained in Waldstahl to train Ruby, though knowing how Khem and Malserik got along, him remaining any more than need was a hazard. It was at this point Imperious spoke on this matter.

"Khem, I am sorry that I had to pull you from your duties at the sphere of knowledge, but I need an extra hand if things got out of hand if you would like to leave you may," Imperious explained, she liked having Khem around, but right now, he could become a detriment, especially if Malserik or even worse Ruby or Weiss and him got into an argument.

"Then, I shall be on my way my lord," Khem spoke in his tongue, though there was a tone of scorn in his voice. As he spoke Ruby could feel that he felt like he was being used, nothing more than a tool to Imperious to forward her agenda. With this felt, as intimidating as the beast of Dashade was, Ruby actually felt kind of bad for him, and spoke up.

"Imperious, I never got a formal introduction," With that said Imperious sighed, thinking, _Well that is unusual for you, Ruby, is your heart coming back?_ Despite this thought, Imperious gave a light chuckle and smiled.

"Ah, yes, how rude of me, Ruby this is Khem Val, He is a great ally and friend of mine," Imperious smiled politely as Khem stopped to turn and face the young Sith. Imperious frowned hoping that Khem wouldn't make a comment about eating her. So she continued speaking before any misunderstandings could occur, "He has been at my side almost as long as Viridian has," Imperious smiled as she remembered all the events that they partook in. The number one memory she had was when Zash tried to take her body. She remembered how both Malserik and Khem interrupted her. They didn't even let her start. Khem impaled her while Malserik took her head. Just the thought of that battle made Imperious happy to call them both friends.

Khem looked down at the little Sith in front of him, then looked at his master. He knew of Ruby, as she was a potential target of his wrath if ordered. So he was taken aback her friendliness, it was like she was not expecting him to consume her at any second. Despite this shock, he still replied with, "I will consume you, little Sith," as he turned around and left the room. His heavy feet making quite the racket as he left the room. He had to return to his duties in Kaas City, and not remain in the librarian's library.

"Imperious, what did he mean by that?" Ruby asked quite concerned about how he said he would consume her. Now that he had left the room, Ruby wanted clarification on what he meant by that, along with the validity of the threat.

"He is a Dashade, he literally gains power from killing force users, I wouldn't worry about it, he said that to me when Viridian and I freed him on Korriban," Imperious smiled, once again another pleasant memory. Both her and Malserik were young, Malserik wasn't officially a Sith at that point considering she just found him in the tombs a few weeks earlier as a rogue Jedi that had made their way to Korriban just before the war broke out. Though this Nostalgic line of thinking was interrupted by a buzzing in Imperious belt pouch. Reaching down, she unhooked the clip that held the leather strap that held her Scroll in place in the pouch.

As she removed it, letting it open in her hand, she read the message from Weiss.

* * *

Imperious, Ruby, Malserik would like you to get Marr and Jadus to leave and come down to the Archive, We need you down here.

* * *

With that on the screen, Imperious sighed figuring there was something new with their eyes. She stood up and said to Ruby, "Well, Weiss and Malserik want us down in the archive, now. I guess they figured something out with their eyes."

With that said the two Sith, Ruby sighed and they left the study together. As they left the room, Imperious sent out a scroll message to be disseminated to her order, to inform them of their new allies, and to prepare for a call later in the day. After that, walking down the still wrecked and tarped-over halls. The air, still chilled by the mountain air as they walked down the path to the archive. As they walked they received yet another message that made them sigh with great relief.

* * *

Marr and Jadus have departed on a shuttle without incident.

Neo.

* * *

Sitting in the shuttle Marr and Jadus's masks locked in the dim light of the shuttle's passenger bay.

"This is most interesting, is it not?" Marr asked as he sat back. He wondered how Imperious amassed such a following if what she said was true, but he had no reason to doubt her. As the train of thought got rolling Jadus replied coldly to this question.

"Indeed, This is quite an interesting turn of events," Jadus replied as he sat there. He always figured Imperious a loner and someone that maintained the status quo of her position, as to not draw attention to herself. During her rise to power, she came off as overly ambitious, but after assuming the post, she seemed to calm down and stow her ambitions. Though it seemed they were not fully stowed, just contained for practicality. "It would seem we have allies, though Marr, I am very curious what their end goal is?"

"On that, we are in agreement," Marr stated calmly. To him, this situation was very interesting, though it needed to be confirmed, and confirmed that it was also going to reform the Empire and not just going to install herself as Empress. This was a concern he forwarded to Jadus with,"We need to see what we can figure out about her motives, and plan."

"I concur with that sentiment, but Imperious does understand operational security, even if she didn't Malserik does," Jadus replied with a long-winded explanation. Though he continued with, "We will have to look into this organization, along with Imperious in general, I want to know why she went unconscious like that." With that said Marr nodded, they knew that they had to gain Imperious's trust, but they also had to do their research, and the information that they would be looking for would not be in on Drommund Kaas, but Korriban.

* * *

In the archive, Weiss and Malserik approached the hulking Mandalorian Iron door. The dark metal giving off an aura of the Darkside to Weiss. Foreboding and intimidating, those were the two words Weiss would use to describe the entrance to the vault. This appearance and feeling made it something very unappealing to be around for the young Sith. Waiting on Ruby and Imperious, she was allowed to study the details of the door she missed when she slaughtered the Jedi intruders.

The door itself was dark in color, with a very intricate engraving. It was embossed with an emblem that looked like a cross inside an oblong diamond with what almost looked like a sword in it. On either side were engravings of hooded figures with swords, kneeling. The frame of the door itself was ornate, carved with intricate designs that shined in the light. Despite the ornate nature, she could tell that it was built withstand a massive blast. She knew it was genetically locked to Viridian, though there was a security flaw that was exploited when the Jedi were raiding the archive. Though once Waldstahl was secure, this flaw was corrected by Malserik's own hands.

Malserik smiled looking at the door, as most of his most prized artifacts were now locked away in there along with that Holocron. He turned to face Weiss who was seemingly analyzing the door before her. He smiled as that door itself was made from the history of the Sith itself. The engravings themselves were added after the fact, but where he 'recovered' the metal from certainly annoyed quite a few Mandalorians as what he did was effectively grave robbing, but Surik and Exar Kun beat him to the punch with this particular Sith tomb and the Government of Onderon was in no state to have stopped him. Though as they stood there, The door that leads to the main hall slid open, looking back at the duo that entered, Malserik smiled and asked.

"So Marr and Jadus are gone I take it?" Viridian asked as he walked up to the console that controlled the lock to the vault. Taking off his glove, he then pressed his palm to the scanner. With a satisfactory bleep. This bleep was the cue that door responded too as it was followed by loud metallic thuds and clacks. Inside the mechanism of the vault door, the locking bars retracted and the seal of the door broke, allowing the hermetically sealed room to vent out with a hiss. As the door ran through its functions, Imperious responded.

"Yes they left, so what is the situation with your eyes?" Imperious shifted her response into a question, to which both of the eye-patched Sith shrugged which allowed them to both say.

"We don't know," they both replied, their voices showing their confusion, though Malserik continued with, "They definitely have changed, for what purpose is unknown to us, that is why we are going to consult the Holocron just to confirm if they have been made inert. Then you have the fact, I supposedly now have an Aura,"

This explanation made Imperious look at Malserik with shock, as her mind gravitated to two words 'aura' and 'inert'. The same happened to Ruby whose golden eyes went wide beneath her hood as the door behind Malserik and Weiss began to groan open. They had long dismissed the idea of Malserik and Imperious having Auras. That meant Malserik would also have a semblance. Needless to say, Ruby and Imperious were as confused as Malserik and Weiss now, though their answers were behind that giant vault door.

* * *

 **A/N: Well that was that Chapter, I have been doing a lot of set up, for new plot points. Along with a lot of new ideas for the story, so I hope everyone likes where this could go! As I am trying to keep my cards hidden I really don't have much to say minus apologize for taking as long as I have, I hopefully got off the emotional roller-coaster I was on and with V5 of RWBY dropping soon I will be revitalized in my writing efforts.**

 **With these thoughts in mind let me get the review responses out of the way.**

 **Guest: I am still debating how I want to handle the Grimm. I can see why them being treated as a bioweapon like entity would be interesting as it would keep them contained to a planet. With this one, I would like reader feedback, as I originally wanted the Grimm to operate like the Tyranids from 40k, though less horrifyingly grimdark. Though it would be logical for them to be a contained threat with no inherent space travel. I will have to figure this one out, but I am leaning to them being contained, though I may give them some interesting forms later, once they get established in the SW galaxy.**

 **william bessent: No, not a part of my plans for Jaune.**

 **JS Clark: Effectively yes, that was indeed a Grimm Rancor. That is the first of many Star Wars critters that are going to get Grimm forms. As for what the Grimm do, I will focus on that in a different chapter. As for the bit with Pyrrha, her lightsaber is fine, just ineffective as the bony plates the Grimm possess are resistant to lightsabers, so "The Blade" is the Sith Sword stored on the Scepter of Ragnos. Pyrrha's lightsaber uses an unstable blade crystal she got from her times in the tombs, plus a magma crystal.**

 **Little Tattletail: Eventually I plan on giving them their share of the limelight, I really need to focus more on the Jedi as they are going to get a major plot arc.**

 **With all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


	47. Chapter 47: Semblance

**A/N Sorry for the long wait, life was life and I could not find time to write in the later months of the semester, so for that, I apologize also Happy two years of Dark Side of Rose without further ado, Chapter 47: Semblance.**

* * *

 **Chapter 47: Semblance**

* * *

Returning to the cityscape moon of Nar Shaddaa, the cityscape was blazing and burning, wisps of flames escaping from every window or port they could. Smoke and smoldering ash filled the sky. The Grimm filled the streets and flooded the skies. Screams echoing off most of the surfaces that they could, filling the urban cityscape with there echoes.

Before the emergence of the Grimm, in a world going about it's daily business, a human Sith Lord by the name of Vakor LeSark, his loving apprentice; Jaesa Willsaam, and another allied human Sith; Lyeroka Berlisa were enjoying an evening on the crime world, as Nar Shaddaa was known for its nightlife. They were all clad in the standard for Sith fashion, black robes, and armor. Though Lyeroka was more dressed in her role as a Sith Sorceress., celebrating a victory they had just achieved on Nal Hutta to Further there causes. They had found themselves in a shadier cantina establishment. Sitting in a dark corner booth the trio relaxed. They were laughing and having a good time. Though their rest and relaxation was met with a harsh and sadly abrupt end. Their night was ruined by a traumatizing pulse that hinted that the Force seemed to be in upheaval.

The non-force users felt unease, though the force users were almost incapacitated by this pulse. To a force user, it felt like an eruption in the Darkside, though to those force users on the world, it was more than that. They felt something being burned into their being, tethering to the force, like something new was there. This connection caused an intense pain to engulf their bodies as the world fell into chaos around them. When the pain stopped, the three Sith stood to find the door caved in and a large hulking masked beast before them.

* * *

Nearby in another Hutt's Palace, there was a Miriluka Jedi Consular by the Name Sitar Howulf of negotiating with the crime lord. They were clad in their elegant robes, that where a palette of browns, whites, and blues. He was there to see if they could acquire information on the Sith and their movements due to the recent silence of most Republic Intelligence in the Sith Empire.

Much to the Jedi's disappointment, the Hutt refused to cooperate, rightfully fearing a retaliation of Imperial Intelligence. Walking out of the Hutt's palace, onto the streets, the stench of decay and other depravities Nar Shaddaa, hit blinded Jedi's nose. He sighed, he wished to be on Tython, away from the dark nature of this world. Though as he stood observing the environment through the force, a pulse flashed out. Effectively blinding the Jedi in a wave of searing hot pain. This turmoil was unlike nothing he had ever felt, especially focused on his vestigial eyes. Truly blinded by this pulse, the Jedi felt the torrent of fear and dread, flowing from its epicenter. To one that walked the path of the light, this was a truly dark event.

Though as the wave washed over him, he could feel something. Something new, something bright. It felt like the force, but different. Neither inherently dark nor light but it was something to note as the wave passed into the darkness of the starry void. Though as it passed and the Jedi could get back on his feet, he could already feel the chaos unleashing itself as inky black rivers flowed through the cityscape, and it moved and pulsated with unnatural life, something that made Jedi feel uneasy as it felt like the world had just became a wound in the force.

* * *

Back in the cantina, The trio of Sith engaged the beast as numerous blasters were absorbed by the wolf-like creatures bony armor. Leaping forth the three tore down using the force to accelerate their attack. Vakor ignited his crimson blade, his sulfuric yellow eyes glowing with rage as he lashed out. Though his blade had no effect on the bony plate, This caused him to be whipped away by the dark creature in shock.

Seeing her lover get thrown like a rag-doll, Jaesa darted forth, she could feel nothing from these creatures, minus the empty void that was their presence. As she darted up, she charged up a torrent of force lightning. Once released onto the savage beast, it seemed unfazed, no it seemed almost content as it grew in size and mass. Causing Jaesa to look at the beast in shock as it looked at her with its glowing orange eyes peering out of its bony white mask. Though as the creature swiped at Jaesa, the Black haired and Red-eyed, sorceress intercepted the attack using the force to enhance her strength as she let out a roaring force enhance scream. It was something so potent that all of the Glassware in the cantina shattered upon its release as she elegantly a parried the attack and force pushed Jaesa out of the way.

Slammed into the corner by the mighty attack, Vakor felt no injury to his body or his armor. That new feeling in the force was welling within as he looked at that beast. He almost could have sworn that he saw his body pulse with a storm grey field. On the attack, he launched himself forward. Aiming his crimson blade for a gap in the bony plate. Though the best opening presented itself for the Sith to exploit, its open maw. He plunged the blade up into its skull cutting into the soft tissue was inside. His crimson blade pierced the brain of the creature killing it instantly.

As it fell limp, it did the most unusual thing the Sith had seen a creature do, it faded into an inky black smoke. Before the trio could respond, they could hear the screams, the agony, and the pain, both with their ears and the force. The turmoil in the force was great, almost overwhelming as hundreds of thousands of souls were seemingly being slaughtered by these null creatures.

* * *

The Miriluka Jedi recovered from the upheaval in the force, his vision through the force restored he searched the environment, he felt cold like the force itself on the world was being sapped through a festering wound. It was a feeling that made Sitar very uneasy. Though as he continued to look with his sight through the force, he saw something that chilled his soul to the very core. He saw null entities, creatures that were empty voids in the force, null entities. Then he saw the flowing rivers of null from which these creatures were being birthed. Just by the way, they felt he could tell that they would feed on the force to power themselves.

Screams of the damned filled his ears, from his location he could see these newly formed beasts leap from the flowing null rivers and slice apart any of the populations that found themselves to be in the range of these voidly creatures. Grabbing his lightsaber off his belt, even his experienced hands were clammy with sweat with this new threat that had revealed themselves. Though as he felt the sky-lanes he saw the insectile form launching stingers from their abdomen to rip speeders and ships from the air as other aerial nulls shredded their hulls, pulling the contents of life inside out to eviscerate them.

Igniting his green blade, the Jedi knew he couldn't defend himself easily with the force as these creatures would consume it. He could feel the strife and the pain of the inhabitants, their anguish was making his sight hazy as he felt the turmoil in the cityscape. Feeling one of these null creatures approach, he tightened the grasp on the carved wooden hilt of the weapon he possessed. Slowly he nervously brought it up in a combat stance as he felt his surroundings, it was scaling the structure. Pressing his thumb into the ignition stud, he felt the lime green blade jump to life in his hands.

That is when he heard it, the howl of aggression as the beast climbed up in front of him. With it, this close the Jedi felt quite unnerved by the null presence as it stared him down. He could see the bony plates that covered its body, he could feel that they were something to be avoided and due to their null nature, mind tricks would be ineffective. Sitar used the force to increase his speed as he leaped forward in attack. He lined up the blade with a gap in the plates of boney armor. He felt his blade connect with its flesh. Feeling the wolfish creature go limp with death, he withdrew his lime blade as he felt more of the creatures beginning to rally towards his location. He knew he was in for a fight, so he stood ready as he took breaths to remain calm and not panic with the thought of his potential death on this night.

It was with that thought he felt something new, a new entity that was shielding him. Standing there his blade in hand, he felt himself coated in a lime green field that would protect him as more of the creatures readied to attack. Though as he felt the environment he could see more of these wolfish creatures approaching, though as he did he could feel another new element to him, an ability that he never knew he had. As they leaped forward in attack, the Jedi vanished in a flash of lime green.

* * *

The trio of Sith had left the cantina behind themselves as the walked the inflamed streets with these awful creatures. Even by sith standards, these beasts were disturbing and unnatural. Though the three of them felt off-kilter as they walked, as they seemingly had a field protecting their bodies from harm, each a different color. While being attacked by a boar-like creature Lyeroka discovered that her field was a deep crimson. Jaesa, while under attack from a quadrupedal bird-like creature found her shield to be a yellow-orange. As they fought their way through these hoards of beasts they found themselves. This was something that confused the sith as it was something rooted in the force yet not directly connected or at least that is how they saw it.

Though as they walked the streets they found themselves under siege from these creatures of nothing. They were trying to make their way to the spaceport if it wasn't already in flames. With these creatures attacking, one of the wolf-like ones tore out of an alley still gnawing on a severed limb. Vakor handled this creature swiftly as when it attacked. Dashing forward into a lunge he readied to swing his lightsaber. Though when his blade connected with the creature he could feel the new field channeling into his weapon. As it hit he saw the blade flare out in a concussive blast detonated the air in the direction of the strike. The blast wave tore apart the beast at its middle as his blade followed through. His eyes went wide with the destruction, it was a beautiful sight as black shreds flew in a cloud of viscera.

Though as Vakor found this, his companion Jaesa, found herself facing another boar-like creature charged her. Her sulfuric eyes locked in the creature, dashing forth into battle she felt her skin tingle as she felt light shift around her. As the light bent around her, she disappeared from view. Evading the creature, she could not maintain the distortion for long, only long enough to deal with the inbound threat. As the distortion of light passed she reappeared her lightsaber impaling the pitch like the flesh of the beast.

Engaging one of the odd bird headed winged variants of the nulls Lyeroka like the rest felt her ability be unlocked. She could feel her ability like it wanted to stretch out like her arms could reach out to the flyer. Reaching out, she saw out of her arm formed tendrils of crimson energy that ensnared the half bird monstrosity. Ripping it from the sky, the Sith threw it to the ground as she drew it closer to slay it with her saber.

With these new abilities unveiled to the trio of Sith, they tore through the lines of these beasts trying to push across the cityscape to reach their Fury, a ship that was unresponsive to any form of communications. Leaving them very few options the trio of Sith chose to fight, cutting swaths through the beasts before too long they found themselves surrounded by larger and larger numbers of said creatures. New forms revealing themselves with heavier and heavier armor along the way. Vakor was the one pushing the front as his explosive impact ability had a nasty habit of finishing the beasts off with one hit. The human Sith found himself sweating profusely as the combat dragged on. As he slammed his saber it another one of the wolfish creature's skulls, detonating it. He grunted as he felt the soreness in his muscles as each impact rattled his bones. Focusing on the distortion of light while cutting through these null creatures, as much as she was enjoying the combat, her head had began to throb with the overuse of her ability. While Lyeroka felt her tendrils weakening with each use as she controlled the flying nulls.

In the middle of a writhing mass of the black null creatures, the Sith embraced their pains and kept fighting. With each dead null, they could see two take its place. Unsure of how to fight their way out of this, Vakor yelled out to his two allies, "Any ideas on how to get us out of here?"

Lyeroka was the first to respond as she caught the claws of one of the wolfish nulls on her blade, "No damned clue, unless you want to run?" to the other Sith that had not responded, the last word that came out of Lyeroka's mouth was a heresy, a word almost as repugnant as they enemy that they faced. Jaesa looking over at Lyeroka as they got pushed closer and closer together gave her response.

"And lose out on such good battle, you really are a coward Lyeroka!" She yelled as the ecstasy of battle still flooded her body, despite its weariness of battle. Though her Master Vakor looked back at the two of them, as much as he wanted to agree with Jaesa, he could not, Lyeroka was right there was no other option, though any window of escape that they had was by this point sealed by a horde of black writhing nulls. glancing around they had worked their way close to the spaceport but they were way too far and now the spaceport looked to be a blaze of an orange inferno. The way they came was now ablaze and filled with null beasts. LeSark knew he could not repulse this many of these unnatural beasts he knew he could not give up, he had to live. He had to fight this new enemy. He turned his fear and hopelessness into a vengeful anger and kept fighting.

Lyeroka on the hand kept fighting, she knew their boss would kill her if she abandoned them, but she also knew this was a hopeless battle, not worth their lives. Though she saw all that Vakor did as she did she looked over to Jaesa, who was still seemingly enjoying her feast of violence, though even she could tell thatVakor's apprentice was wearing down. The Inquisitor however saw no outs to the situation, they were well and truly surrounded but, to spite these beasts she was going to take as many of them to the grave with her if possible if no method of escape showed itself.

* * *

Standing on a ledge of one of the taller structures in the local area, Sitar could see the entire cityscape through the force, it was being decimated. The sounds of roaring flames whipping on the duracrete buildings, the clattering echoes of falling debris, the roars of the nulls, and the screams of their dying victims filled the air. The turmoil in the force was nauseating but, the Miraluka knew he had to remain strong, that he had to find his way back to Tython to warn the Republic. Though he saw the main spaceport was in flames, and sadly that is where his ship was so alternative methods of escape were what were required to get off of this planet as if these nulls were to spread, it would be crisis that would rival the Galactic War that had was just waged over a decade ago. He sighed, keeping calm as he scanned the sky for any ships he could board with his new found ability. Looking around he saw on the route he would have taken by foot to the Spaceport a massive horde of the null beasts seemingly swarming they were nothing to supremely large, just the smaller forms and some aerial forms. In the middle of the cluster, he could feel the presence of three Sith.

He could see the Darkness in their hearts, as he turned his back to them as they were his enemies, he looked back. Under normal circumstances, Sitar would never consider helping them but they were in need, he could tell they would die if he did nothing to save them. Though he alone could not save the populous he could save the Sith who could seek aid for the survivors. He knew the council's thoughts on the matter, but this was a new enemy, an entirely new treat, one that did not distinguish between the two factions. If such a thing were to spread, surely the Sith Empire would have to fight too. Conjuring up his new ability, Sitar flashed out of existence.

Back in the brawl with the trio of Sith, they only had by this point mere inches between them, as they were holding off so many attacks from all angles. The Null's white bony claws had scathed their colorful fields numerous times, they had no hope of escaping, none what so ever. But in a flash of green, they found themselves being ripped from the fight. Looking around the three Sith saw themselves on the walkway that connected two buildings that seemed to be unscathed. Falling to the metal floor, they collapsed panting unsure of what saved them or if they were already dead. Vakor rolling onto his back saw their savior, clad in brown and white accented with blue, he stood his eyes covered by a porcelain mask, giving his race of Miriluka away quickly while his clothing told him all about who this man was, he was a Jedi.

"Who the hell are you?" The brawny Sith asked as he leaped back to his feet. Locking eyes with the mask of the Jedi he raised his lightsaber toward him. He was quickly followed by Jaesa along with Lyeroka. The Jedi could feel all of them, as they pointed their blades at his body but he gave his response quickly and concisely.

"Despite our past grudges and feuds we must put those behind us and work to get off of this world." He explained not making any movement but his lips. Continuing by saying, "As this threat is something we have not faced before and we must unite if we wish to warn our respective people." though they heard the approaching roar of starship approaching. All of their attention shifted to the burning craft. Which was blacked out BT-7 Thunderclap covered in a swarm of flying nulls coming right for the gap between the buildings, right toward them as they dove out of the way.

* * *

 **A/N: Once again I'm deeply sorry for the delay, school, life, and pretty much everything else made it finding time to write hard to come by, I also would've liked this chapter to be longer but I wanted to get something out for the 18th as this is the second year Dark Side of a Rose has been on the site. Also, I would've preferred it to be a different chapter than this one but the sidetracking happened. All in all this chapter was to show how Star Wars characters would be reacting to the new Grimm infestation Along with a few other interesting details.**

 **Review responses:**

 **Piggyslayer1235: I have no clue what her theme would be probably something along the lines of Imperial March but probably a bit more melodically evil.**

 **TheLatiKing: we shall see.**

 **Minnidog118: Yes it is definitely lining up to be something very interesting.**

 **TheFishKing: I wondered if anyone would catch that little detail.**

 **Guest: I think I get what you're saying here use them as a weapon more than a force of their own.**

 **With all of that out of the way, Thank you all for reading, if you have any comments, critique, suggestions or corrections, feel free to leave a review or PM me if you can, anything can help the Story. Now then, please everyone be safe and may the force be with you all and thank you all for reading, reviewing, following, favoriting, and sharing RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose! So here's to another upcoming year of RWBY: Dark Side of a Rose!**

 ** _Blitzing Raptor_**


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